Desire
by Biscuit15
Summary: The life of a gamer is supposed to be a simple one. At least, it would be simple for Bel if everyone stopped sabotaging his computer and allowed him to repeatedly skip school in peace. AU, slight crack. B26, Bel x Fran
1. Chapter 1

"You need a fucking life, trashy prince."

Bel sneered as he looked over his shoulder at the long-haired man who had just walked into his room uninvited at three in the morning. The intruder's features were shadowed by the light of the computer screen the blond was sitting in front of in the otherwise blackened room, but he didn't need to see his guardian's face to know that the other was annoyed; the man's tone said it all. "Says the snarky sharky who was out partying all night. I can see the hickies on your neck."

"Voi!" Squalo tugged his jacket tighter around his body in a self-conscious manner as his face flushed. "Fuck up! Get some damn sleep; you have school in the morning!"

"I don't want to go to school." Bel leant back in his computer chair and crossed his arms behind his head. "See, the new expansion of one of my games comes out tomorrow and I plan to spend the whole day on it."

"You're going to school, trash. You spend too much time playing videogames."

"If sharky boss doesn't keep his voice down, he's going to wake up everyone else. And then everyone else is going to be mad at him. Ushishi~"

"Voi, you little bastard! You –"

The boy waved his hand dismissively before he spun back around to face his computer. "- If sharky boss doesn't mind, I'm busy with the auction house. I've almost capped my gold limit on my sixth character now. The prince needs to _concentrate_ , and he can't do that when he is going deaf in this moment. Please leave and go to bed."

"You'd better get up and go to school tomorrow morning, because if I come home and I find you still in this damn room, you're in huge trouble." With that said, the door was slammed shut as Squalo left to go to his own room.

Bel laughed before his attention went back to his videogame. He couldn't say he disliked his foster home, because as loud as it was, it amused him greatly. He knew he was lucky to have been placed here, and it was times like these where he could almost thank his past that had led to no one else wanting to foster him; he had a feeling he could never be as happy anywhere else as he was here.

"Wait until sharky comes home tomorrow for lunch and finds I ditched school again~ Shishishi~" By now, he had finished what he had been doing on his videogame, so he logged out and turned the monitor off; there wasn't much else he needed to do on his game because he had already spent so much time on it, he had managed to complete things that people who had started playing long before him still hadn't been able to do.

The boy's footsteps were silent as he treaded to the other side of the room in order to curl up in his mess of blankets, and once he recovered the TV remote that had been tangled in amongst them, he turned his TV on next. He picked a movie from the external hard drive he had plugged into the TV, too excited to sleep; he giggled and rolled around like a turtle on its back as he planned out his day. He would go to school to get his name marked off so they didn't call Squalo and ask where he was, and then he would leave to go and get his new game and come home, drink as much caffeine as he could, and play and play and play until he fell asleep on his keyboard again.

Or until Squalo came and pried him off the computer to force him to take a break. Whichever one came first.

Tomorrow was going to be a good day – and if Squalo came home and realised he was skipping school again, it was going to be _great_.


	2. Chapter 2

Bel was quick to get his schoolbag from his locker and leave the premises without a word to anyone once he had been marked as present. No one knew he was leaving, and he liked it that way; whenever he walked out of school in the middle of classes, his teachers always had to interrogate him as to where he was going and then dob on him to Squalo to get him into trouble.

Couldn't they just accept the fact that Bel hated school and would much rather be at home in his room playing videogames?

The blond had made his way into town quickly and soon found himself standing in line at the game store to pick up his pre-order. Once he got it, he returned home and found that only one car was parked in the driveway; Squalo hadn't come back home for lunch yet, so Bel would have to wait a little longer for his amusement at the man's expense to begin.

"This is going to be so fun~" Bel chanted to himself in excitement as he made his way to bedroom, but he soon froze as he noticed that his doorhandle was half-an-inch higher than he had left it this morning; someone had been in his room without his permission. "Those peasants had better not have touched any of my stuff…"

The boy gulped as he gripped the doorhandle nervously. He hesitated to depress it, not sure he wanted to see what was inside; what if someone _had_ been in here touching his belongings? He _hated_ sharing his stuff! He slowly pushed the door open, but in the split second it took for him to peek inside, his heart stopped; his desk was completely void of his computer. Had he been robbed?! By who?!

"Mammy!" The blond shouted for the only other person in the house as he ran from his room and down the hallway. He threw open one of the other bedroom doors as he burst inside rudely; he didn't care if he walked in on anything; he was too distressed about his computer. "Mammy, I've been robbed! Help me!"

The indigo-haired woman Bel was panicking to looked up from the money she was counting. Her violet orbs were partially hidden behind her long hair, but it was clear she was as composed as ever when she stood up and moved to put a hand on the boy's shoulder to calm him; it was almost as if no one had broken in and taken anything.

"It's alright, Bel. You haven't been robbed." Despite her much older age, the woman named Mammon still had to look up at Bel as she waited for a response.

"But my computer is gone! It's not –"

"So is your Xbox and PlayStation and every game you had for them." Mammon nodded in agreement as she squeezed the younger's shoulder in a comforting manner.

"How do _you_ know?!" Bel felt so lost, he dropped to his knees in desperation; the thieves could have taken anything they wanted, but why did they have to take his _games_?! "What else is gone?!"

"Just those. If you want them back, you have to pay me."

"Why am I paying you when they were _stolen?!_ "

"They haven't been stolen. I sold them when you were at school."

Bel's mouth fell open at this information; never before had he felt so betrayed. "…"

"I got close to three-thousand for all of it; if you can double the price, I'll get them back for you."

"I'm not buying back my own things!" The student crossed his arms stubbornly against his chest as he pouted. "Squ paid two grand for the computer alone! That was a top of the line gaming computer, Mammy! Do you _know_ how much trouble it was to get it?! Give it all back before I tell Squ on you!"

"I don't work for free. If you don't want them back, I'll enjoy the money I made off them earlier."

A scandalised look crossed Bel's face before he pulled his phone out of his pocket. He said in a threatening tone, "I'm _telling_ on you, Mammy!"

"That's going to cost you, too."

Bel stomped his foot on the ground as he waited impatiently for Squalo to pick up the phone. When the other did so, the boy didn't even greet his guardian; he simply yelled, "Mammy sold all my stuff, Squ! She sold it all and she won't get it back for me!"

It was quiet for a few seconds on the other line before Bel winced and moved his phone at arm's length lest he go deaf. "Voi! You little brat, why aren't you at school?!"

"That's not the point! The point is, Mammy sold my stuff and she expects me to buy it back!"

"Get your ass to school!"

"Squ! Listen to me!"

" _Go,_ Bel!"

Bel ended the call in frustration before he slid his phone back into his pocket. He glared at the woman when she held her hand out in front of him expectantly, knowing she wanted to be paid for allowing him to tell Squalo what she had done.

"One-hundred."

"I'm not paying you." The boy sulked as he started walking out of the bedroom to go back to his own; he didn't want to be in the presence of his betrayer, after all.

"That's okay; I'll just sell your TV next."

A door slamming further down the hallway was Mammon's reply.

 _ **~~XX~~**_

When Bel was reunited with his belongings later on in the day courtesy of Squalo – who had gotten sick of the boy sooking in his ear all day and had finally done something about Mammon's actions – he had locked himself in his room again, finally playing his new game. The other kid currently in Squalo's care was sitting beside him, with a blank expression as he shooed away the mink that was sitting on the desk, growling at him.

"Bel-senpai, can you do something about your pet? It's going to try and kill me soon."

"Good. Then you'll finally be out of my hair."

"Bel-senpai, you've been playing this for hours now. Aren't you bored yet?"

"No, you stupid frog. Leave me alone for once."

"Bel-senpai~"

Growling as he heard his name being drawn out in a monotonous manner for what felt like the millionth time tonight, Bel turned around to face the younger teenager. "Fran, get out of my room! You're pissing me off!"

The teal-haired male pointed down at the blond's lap before he said, "I see now why Bel-senpai is so grumpy and wants me to leave; he's so enthralled with his game, it's making him hard. Does senpai notice when that happens, or is your brain too small to comprehend more than one thing at a time?"

Bel stared at the younger male with a horrified expression. He was barely aware of crossing his legs in a self-conscious manner; he knew full-well that he got excited over his games, but to have someone point it out to him like this…

Maybe it was coincidence, but it actually made him a bit harder.

"Fran."

"Yes, senpai?"

"Unless you want to die, get the _hell_ out of my room!"

Fran didn't waste any time fleeing once the sharp objects were lobbed at him; the blond was violent and always on his period, so it was never a good idea to tease him – then again, Fran had never been good at _not_ endangering his own health through antagonising others.

When the annoyance was gone, Bel sighed as he looked down at his lap. He had been doing so well at ignoring it, but now that his attention was fixed on it…

Well, _something_ had to be done about it.

 _ **~~XX~~**_

Meanwhile, as Fran trudged out into the living room to see what everyone else was doing, he found Squalo laying lazily on the couch as he watched one of his cooking shows. Why the man enjoyed them so much was a mystery to everyone, but no one questioned it; they weren't sure they really wanted to know.

"Why aren't you with Bel?" Watching as the teenager moved to the bookshelf to find a book to read, Squalo continued on. "You're always annoying him until you go to bed."

"Senpai was on his period again, and he got hard over his game. I pointed it out to him and then he started throwing stuff at me so I thought I should leave."

"What the fuck kind of game is he playing for _that_ to happen?" Sitting up at this, Squalo cocked an eyebrow.

Fran shrugged. "Senpai's weird."

"Yeah, I know." Deciding it was better to not question his charge's... _interests,_ Squalo changed the subject. After all, he liked not being scarred for life when it came to Bel.


	3. Chapter 3

"Bel-senpai, wake up."

Bel groaned sleepily as he cracked his eyelids open. He licked his lips before he shifted, too comfortable in his bed to want to get up; he wanted to lay here forever where it was so warm and soft for his aching body. "Go 'way…"

"Bel-senpai, the stupid long-haired shark told me to wake you up for lunch."

Unable to keep his eyelids open even the slightest, Bel shut them tight as he started slipping back into oblivion. "…"

"Bel-senpai."

Bel groaned loudly as a sudden weight landed him on and startled him out of sleep. He finally pulled his head out from beneath his blankets and glared exhaustedly at his fellow foster before shoving half-heartedly at the younger, just too tired to function properly; he could barely think, let alone coordinate his limbs efficiently. "Stupid frog… Heavy…"

"Senpai, it's almost two in the afternoon." The younger pulled Bel's blanket off the bed and dropped it onto the ground. He watched as the blond curled into a tight ball at this, and he knew he had won; Bel couldn't sleep without the comfort of his favourite blanket. "The shark said lunch is ready, and if you don't get up, he'll come in and change the password on your computer."

Bel mumbled as he rubbed at his eyes and tried to sit up. He let out a soft moan of discomfort as his back ached angrily in protest, and he wished Fran would leave; he hated being seen when he didn't feel right, because he couldn't stand to be thought of as weak and helpless. "…"

"Senpai should have a shower first before lunch."

Looking at the younger in tired confusion, Bel cocked his head slightly to the side. "Why? I had one last night, frog…"

The smaller male pointed down to the light blue pyjama pants Bel was wearing. His face remained blank as he said, "Because senpai is too excitable, even when he's sleeping."

Bel groaned as he finally noticed the damp patch on his pants brushing against his skin. He dropped his head; of all the people to see him in this state…

It had to be the stupid frog who would use this as blackmail whenever he could.

"Was senpai dreaming of his games? They seem to excite senpai the most." Fran backed up when a pillow was thrown at him, but that didn't stop him from speaking. "If senpai wants, I can help him shower; he'll just create more mess instead of cleaning the one he already has, otherwise."

"Fuck off…" Finally getting off bed, Bel stomped past Fran and left the room. He disappeared into the bathroom and had a shower, but as Fran had predicted, it took him longer than it should have since he only added to his current 'mess'.

Finally, once he was clean and ready to eat, Bel slowly made his way out into the dining room and found everyone already seated at the table and almost finished with their meals.

"Squ…" Bel took his usual seat next to his favourite guardian and dropped his head onto the table. He was still so very tired; he had been up all night with back and chest pain, and when it finally settled down around breakfast time, he had gone to sleep to catch up on what he had lost out on. "My back hurts… Can you rub it for me?"

Squalo sent the boy a pitiful look as he shook his head. "Sorry, Bel; can't. I need to go into town once I've eaten. Get Fran to rub it for you."

"I don't want frog slime on me." Bel looked around at the other adults sitting around him as he tried to decide who else he could talk into rubbing his sore, princely back. The dark-haired man slouched in his chair lazily across from Bel wouldn't rub _anyone's_ back for anything, so there was no point in asking him. The freakishly tall male with lightning shaped side-burns was someone Bel didn't want to touch him in _any_ way, so _he_ was _far_ out of the question. The one with the green part of hair had very skilled hands and always rubbed Bel's back when asked, but the boy wasn't in the mood to listen to the other's flirting and having to tell him that his hands were _too_ low and he didn't need an _ass_ massage. The older blond sitting next to Squalo also gave good massages, but was most likely going to go with Squalo in town. And Mammon was absent today, so this left only one option.

The boy sighed in rejection before he reluctantly turned to Fran. "Oi, frog. Massage the prince's back for him once he's eaten."

Fran agreed easily, having already finished with his pizza. He stayed with Bel once everyone else had left after they had their fill and listened patiently as the blond talked his ear off about one of his games and told him how his YouTube channel was going. He was quiet for once, not baiting the older male into fighting; he liked listening to Bel when the older male was calm and not in a bad mood.

"Anyway, frog, I've had enough." Bel pushed away his plate full of pizza he had barely touched so that he could stand up. He choked on a hiss as the pain in his back flared at the action, but he sucked it up; Fran was someone he didn't want to show his weakness to. "Let's go to my room."

Fran followed behind in silence. He kept quiet about the fact that he was looking forward to this; he had only been in Squalo's care for a few months now, but he had always been drawn to Bel. He didn't know enough about romantics or anything like that to know if he had a crush or not, but he was sure there was a possibility that was the case; he had never acted the way he did with Bel around anyone else.

No matter what it was, Fran knew to not tell Bel; the blond would only get angry like he always did about everything.

Once they were standing in Bel's room, the blond didn't hesitate to shed his jacket and striped shirt to the ground before laying himself down on his bed. He bit back a moan as his skin shuddered in sensitivity when small fingers brushed against his shoulder; back rubs always left him a little excited.

"Make sure to focus on my right shoulder, frog." The blond's toes curled in pleasure and he sucked in a sharp breath as he felt pressure against the tip of his spine; he was just so sensitive to touch. "That's where the pain comes from."

Fran did as told, and for once he didn't speak; he was focused solely on his task, and he wanted to enjoy this while he could; who knew when something like this would happen again? His eyes wandered over Bel's back so that he could take note of the pale flesh he had never seen before; the skin was so soft and smooth, but there were scars here and there that looked almost as if they had been made surgically; what had happened to leave that kind of marring?

"Senpai?" The younger male's fingers dug into Bel's shoulder blade. Once he heard the other hum in response, he continued on. "Why do you have scars?"

"Car crash." Not elaborating on this, Bel fell silent again as he enjoyed the ministrations on his back.

Fran nodded to himself. He reached out with one hand to trace one of the larger scars on Bel's hip; it travelled from just above the blond's thigh and up to the bottom of his ribcage, and it was thick enough in diameter to look almost as if his entire side had been torn open at one point. "Is that why senpai's back always hurts?"

Bel hummed again before he spoke in an oddly-relaxed manner. "Squ says he won't make me get a job because of the pain, so I like it. I still have to go to school, but otherwise I can stay in my room all the time as long as I do my exercises. That's why he never stops me from playing videogames; he knows it hurts if I move too much."

Fran didn't know how to reply to this, so he instead caressed the scar as he thought about the other's words. He was unaware that his attention was focused almost exclusively on the marring; not until Bel spoke again, in a voice that conveyed his uneasiness.

"Stop playing with that…" The boy wasn't used to people touching him in general, and it made him uncomfortable to have someone's fingers stroking him so intimately; he had never dated before, so he was extremely unaccustomed to this kind of scrutiny. "Massage my back; not molest me, frog. You're as bad as Lussu."

"…"

Bel frowned. He lifted his head from the pillow and looked at Fran from the corner of his eye; he knew there should have been a sarcastic reply, but instead there was nothing. "You're quiet today."

"I'm thinking. If senpai doesn't even realise that thinking is possible, then that explains everything as to why he is so stupid."

Bel sighed. He wanted to take the bait, but he was simply too relaxed in this moment to bother doing so. It was hard for him to unwind most of the time, but somehow, feeling Fran's fingers on his back once more was enough to soothe him. "Whatever."

Fran didn't respond; he simply kept massaging the older male's back until, however long later, soft snores sounded from beneath him. The younger male stopped at this and carefully climbed off the blond and onto the floor so that he didn't wake his friend. He grabbed the blankets from where he had dumped them on the floor earlier and placed them over the skinny body. Once Fran had tucked Bel into bed, he left.

Fran went back to his own room and sat at his desk. He was lost in thought for once; like Bel, he was tense a lot of the time, but somehow, being with the blond was enough to relax him.

If Bel ever found out that the reason Fran constantly annoyed him was because the teal-haired male felt completely comfortable with him… Fran wasn't sure he would want to know the other's reaction.

 _ **~~XX~~**_

When night had rolled by and Bel had taken his pain relief medication, he sat at his computer once again with a can of coke by his side. He was so enthralled in his game, he barely took notice of the tapping at his window.

However, when the tapping sounded again, just a little louder this time, Bel glanced to his side to find that his curtains were wide open. He frowned at this; he hoped there was no creeper on the other side of the glass watching him. He didn't like leaving his curtains open since his room was at the front of the house and anyone could see into it if they stood on the other side of the road, but Squalo had overlooked coming in and closing them before heading to bed, and so Bel had forgotten all about them, too.

When the only sounds Bel heard were the ones from his computer, he shrugged it off as part of his overactive imagination and turned back to his game. After taking a sip of coke, he moved to type something on the keyboard, but he froze when he heard his unlocked window opening from the outside.

Bel was out of his chair and in Squalo's bedroom in record time. He tugged at long, silver hair as he tumbled over his own words when telling the man what had happened; it had been a long time since he was this frightened, but he had never had someone try to break into his home like this before. "Squ, my window – someone – it was opening – my coke – trying to kill me – _Help!"_

Squalo sat up at the urgency he could see in his charge. He pulled Bel closer to him and held the boy tight as he spoke in a calm, yet serious manner. "Someone opened your window, brat?" When Bel nodded hastily, the man growled before elbowing the other male sleeping next to him. "Voi! Bucking Horse!"

The blond in question simply rolled onto his other side with a sleepy smile on his face as he took absolutely no notice that his boyfriend was trying to wake him up. He mumbled something about bananas and the president before soft laughter escaped his lips and then quietened back down.

"You're fuckin' useless…" Getting out of bed, Squalo left the room and headed to Bel's. He hid the boy behind him as he slowly approached the open window and searched for anyone who shouldn't be there. To his relief, the street looked to be void of any human life. "I can't see anyone, brat… Did they leave?"

Bel whimpered and shook his head as Squalo reached out to close the window; he could almost see someone reaching in through the open window and stabbing his guardian… "I don't know; I ran when I heard the window open…"

Squalo made sure to close and lock the window before he turned back to his charge. "I'll call the cops and – Voi!" Squalo was startled beyond belief when Bel let out a scream and jumped onto him; the younger had _never_ acted like this before. He clutched his charge tight to him as he tried to find what had terrified Bel so suddenly, but he soon sighed when he found the cause. He wasn't surprised to feel Bel's thin arms wrapped impossibly tight around his own body, because he realised exactly what had happened when he saw the familiar hand sticking out from beneath the blond's bed; Fran, the little bastard, had pranked Bel. "Fran, get out from under there!"

"Yeah!" Bel wiped at his own eyes once he realised that the hand that had grabbed his ankle belonged to Fran. "You're making Squ cry!"

Squalo looked down at Bel, confused by these words; sure enough, the blond had a few tears trailing down his cheeks. "Don't push your shit onto me, brat. _You're_ the one crying."

"Shut up!"

"Senpai, I only grabbed your ankle; no need to be like this." The youngest crawled out from beneath the bed and sat cross-legged on the floor. He felt victorious as he watched his friend sniff back more tears; he had always wondered how the other would react in these moments.

"How am I _supposed_ to feel when someone opens my window and then hides under my bed?!" Bel wiped furiously at his tears, he had never felt so embarrassed in his life. For a second there, he really thought he had been about to die.

"What? I never opened your window."

"…"

"…"

"…"

"…"

When Bel started crying harder, Fran raised his hand in the air and dropped his head. "Okay, that was me, too."

"You little shit!" Bel turned to Squalo and grabbed the man's hand. "I'm sleeping with Squ tonight."

Squalo nodded. He sent a glare at Fran before he growled, "Don't pull shit like that again, Fran. It wasn't funny."

"It was funny to me; senpai screams like a little girl."

Squalo couldn't help but silently agree with this; Bel certainly _had_ sounded rather feminine in his fright. He didn't say anything more as he tugged Bel out of the room; he instead wondered why no one else within the house had come to see what was happening - what if they were being murdered in there?

 _Helpful bunch, they are…_ Deciding that he would also ignore them the next time he heard them scream, Squalo finally climbed back into his bed with Bel right next to him. The boy was pressed up against him, as clingy as he had been when he was a child, but Squalo didn't mind; he had always had a soft spot for the little blond.


	4. Chapter 4

"Good morning, Squalo. You've slept in late; it's almost eight o'clock."

Bel was woken by these words being purred right by his ear, but he ignored them; no one could be stupid enough to mistake _him_ for Squalo. At least, he was convinced that was true until he felt arms wrap around his waist and pull him against a stronger body. He froze, too nervous to even say anything, but it was when he felt a deep kiss against his own lips did he finally break away and kick his unintentional assaulter.

"Get off me, dirty old man!" Bel elbowed the older blond in the stomach before he jumped off the bed. He noticed now why he had been mistaken for his foster parent; while Squalo had exited the room sometime earlier, the other hadn't been aware of Bel coming in to sleep with them; it was natural to assume it was one's lover in bed with them, but really; couldn't Dino open his fucking eyes and make sure he wasn't about to try and sleep with the wrong person?

Bel ran back to his own room. He sighed as he tried to close his door as quietly as he could; there was no school today, and if he made the slightest noise that signalled he was awake…

"Bel-senpaiiiiiii~"

The boy winced at the younger's voice before he dived into his bed and pulled the blankets over him to pretend he was still asleep; the last thing he wanted right now was to deal with the brat.

When the blond's door opened and he sensed a small body standing next to him, he tried his hardest to relax and feign sleep, but he knew it wasn't fooling Fran; the little shit was a cookie just as smart as his senpai, if not smarter, as much as the blond refused to admit it out loud.

"Senpai, I know you're not sleeping because the long-haired loud mouth is making breakfast, and I asked him if you were awake yet. He said you weren't, and that was five seconds before I heard your door shut. I made it here in three. You can't fall asleep in two seconds, senpai."

"…"

Fran pulled the blankets from Bel's body before he spoke again; he knew exactly how to get the attention he wanted. "Senpai's pants are clean this morning. I expected for you to need another shower like you do every other morning because senpai's hormone levels exceed the normal standard for a sixteen-year-old."

Bel growled as he rolled over to face the boy. "How would _you_ know that, frog?"

"Because my room is right next to senpai's, and these walls aren't exactly thick, senpai. Bel-senpai should know this; he has the long-haired shark's bedroom on the other side of his, and the stupid horse comes over and stays most nights."

The boy flushed and lowered his head at what his kohai was implying. "S-shut up! I don't want to think about that!"

Fran allowed a hint of understanding to seep into his otherwise monotonous voice as he nodded. "Senpai likes Squalo, doesn't he? If he thinks about the sounds the horse helps Squalo make, then senpai will need to spend hours in his room relieving himself. I understand."

Bel's cheeks turned scarlet as he threw his pillow at the smaller male. "I was fifteen, and it was a crush! How did you find out about that, anyway?!"

"I wasn't sure if senpai was sexually attracted to people or technology, so I asked the loud shark, and he told me. He also said you are sexually attracted to people, technology _and_ shoes and clothing. Bananas, too; he's seen you deep-throating them."

"How did _he_ know all of that?!"

"He said it wasn't hard to tell because you kept blushing every time you looked at him and was stuttering and giggling like an obsessed schoolgirl. And for technology, he told me he once walked into your room and is still pretty sure he saw you trying to mate with your laptop. And the clothing and shoes is a no brainer; you _do_ make some pretty orgasmic noises when you go shopping with the drag-queen."

Bel made a frustrated noise at this. He got off his bed and moved to the computer so that he could turn the monitor on before he got ready for his day. He then approached his dresser and opened it, and within seconds he had chosen his outfit for today. He took the clothing to drop onto his bed and lifted his pyjama shirt up and over his head afterwards so he could change. He dropped it to the floor when he noticed Fran was watching his every movement; what was with that little pervert?

"Do you mind?" Bel tensed and turned around so that his back was to Fran; he didn't like feeling such an intense stare directed at him.

"But senpai, we're both guys here. You don't have anything I haven't already seen. Unless you're really a girl; I haven't seen any of that before."

With another growl, Bel snatched up his clothing and left so that he could disappear into the bathroom in order to get dressed. It wasn't that he didn't _like_ the attention; it was just that it was something he wasn't accustomed to, and…

Well, the biggest reason of all was that Bel was honestly embarrassed to know how much his… ahem… little prince was enjoying the younger's company in such an intimate situation. He was someone who felt constant arousal on a daily basis, but he felt it directed at so few people, it was strange to feel it for someone he had only known for a few months now; he found it hard to be interested in someone he didn't know well or wasn't particularly close to, the reason why Squalo and Mammon were the only two he had ever developed crushes on before. He wished he could spend extra time in the bathroom doing things other than dressing now that his train of thought had derailed, but he decided not to; Fran would only have more reason to annoy him otherwise.

Finally, once he was dressed, Bel returned to his bedroom. He wasn't surprised to find the teal-haired male had waited for him to come back; nothing he could do was enough to shake the little brat, after all.

 _ **~~XX~~**_

When Squalo had finally rescued Bel from Fran just after lunch, the blond couldn't have been more thankful; he liked being by himself with just his games for company, and though he didn't mind someone coming in to talk to him for a little while, he found it extremely difficult to cope with someone in his ear all day. He valued his alone time, and he still had yet to learn how to deal with others getting in the way of it.

But then, sure enough, after returning with the shopping Squalo had sent him to get to in order to give Bel a break, Fran was as determined as ever to stick by Bel's side.

"Senpai, can I play with you?" Fran sat next to Bel at the desk, and the blond wasn't fast enough to stop him from taking the mouse from the older male. "What are you playing? What do you want me to do?"

Bel gave a resigned sigh. He knew he was once again stuck with the brat; the younger had already made up his mind to play with Bel, and nothing the boy could do was going to get him out of his room – it would just waste the energy he didn't have in the first place. "Fine. Whatever. You've got the mouse; you're controlling where we go and what we're looking at."

"Why are we in a dark forest?" Fran moved the mouse around so that he could decide where to go. He cocked his head to the side and asked, "What are we supposed to do?"

"We're looking for notes. Go the other way. No, the _other_ – fucking turn around, Fran!"

Fran didn't do as told; he simply walked their character up to a tree before saying, "No notes on this one, senpai. Where are they?"

"They're randomly scattered around the map – damnit, Fran, they're not on these trees! Stop walking up to them!"

"Senpai is grumpy as always." Instead directing the character over to a building he could see off in the distance, Fran asked, "Is there a note in there?"

"It's random, but one does spawn in there sometimes. Go check it out." A mischievous look crossed Bel's face at this, having decided that since Fran obviously didn't know what this game was, he might just be able to get the little shit back for what he did last night. "Make sure to check the whole building – even the dead ends. We have to walk as far into them as we can to make sure we don't miss the notes."

"Okay~" The younger hummed an annoying tune as he did as instructed. He made sure to walk right into the walls so they didn't miss the notes, but he couldn't say he wasn't getting bored; what was the point of this if they only had to walk around looking for pieces of paper? "Senpai, you have terrible tastes in games."

"You want to die that badly?" Bel turned to glare at Fran and bonk his companion on the head in annoyance. He took no notice of the game camera automatically turning around, but the second he looked back, he was taken by surprise by the jump scare he had planned to get Fran with – but alas, as always, the teal-haired male looked unfazed.

"Is that it, senpai? This game sucks. Can we play something else?" Having missed the way Bel had jumped and squeaked loudly at the scare, Fran moved the mouse to click the game off. It was the first time he had seen the other's wallpaper for the desktop, and he couldn't help but look at the other with a raised eyebrow. "Really, senpai? Naked girls? I thought you were gay."

"Oi! There's nothing wrong with liking a bit of both. It just means that I can get the best of both worlds, shishi~" Bel had already forgotten his previous fright and opened up a different game. He left it on the log-in screen as he turned to Fran and said, "Go get me your laptop; I'll install this on it and we can play online together."

Fran didn't hesitate to do as told; this was the first time since his arrival that Bel had allowed him to share in his hobby. When he came back with his laptop, he was quiet as he watched Bel focus on installing more than just the aforementioned game onto it; it seemed that the blond was putting recording software onto it as well. Fran wasn't entirely sure of what his fellow foster's intentions were, but he didn't get a chance to question it; now that Bel was simply waiting on everything to install, he had closed his eyes with the intention to rest them for a while, but had fallen asleep at his desk again.

Fran left his laptop where it was and moved to Bel's bed so that he could pull the blanket off it. He brought it back over and draped it across the taller male, and when the boy stirred and mumbled something incomprehensible, he brushed his small fingers against a pale cheek.

"It's okay, senpai." Fran tucked the blanket tight around the skinny teen and backed away once he was satisfied Bel was going to be kept warm; he could have easily left the other there in the cooling temperature, but he had never seen his foster brother look so at peace before; Bel actually looked _cute_ when he was resting. "You can sleep. I'll come back when you're awake."

Fran knew that Bel never slept much at night; the blond was always up late playing videogames and doing other things, and had a habit of sleeping for long hours during the day or falling asleep in random places until someone woke him up or carried him to his bed. Fran never minded the other's insane sleeping patterns; he liked that there something Bel enjoyed and made him happy.

Just before he turned around and left the room, Fran reached out and hugged his sleeping senpai lightly as to not wake him. He didn't say anything as he let go; he just left, making sure to close the door quietly behind him and tell everyone to keep it down so that Bel could sleep.

Fran didn't know how to show it, but he really _did_ like his senpai; he wouldn't spend all his time with someone if he didn't, after all.


	5. Chapter 5

Ever since Bel had installed games and software on Fran's laptop, the younger male had been spending his time playing with Bel and taking part in the blond's YouTube uploads. The teal-haired male was very much content with the way they were spending time together; he was glad that Bel seemed to like him just a little better now; it was no secret the blond boy didn't let just _anyone_ this close to him, after all.

"Bel-senpai, can I play this game, too?" From where he had been watching the older male's monitor screen, Fran lifted his chin from the desk and looked up at Bel with his usual blank look.

"This is for YouTube; it's too late to add you in." Bel bit his lip as he tried to hold back his temper; he was already frustrated, and Fran wasn't helping right now. He forced himself to take a deep breath; it wouldn't do to start yelling at the other players on a video that was to be uploaded to the internet. "You can watch; we'll play something together later."

"Belphegor, what are you doing? Hurry!"

"Don't tell me what to do!" Bel couldn't help but snap aggressively at the voices of two of his gaming buddies; he knew they only had good intentions, but _damnit,_ he hated being given instructions by someone who wasn't Squalo.

"Yeah, but Bel, there's a minute before the door closes and you're all the way over on the other side of the map." Fran didn't recognise this voice, and it made him jealous to know that he wasn't the only one Bel spent his gaming time with; the idea of the blond liking other people annoyed him for reasons he didn't even understand. "If you don't get here before it shuts, we –"

"I know!" Bel made an agitated noise as he hit the run button. This was another thing that added to Fran's jealousy; how _dare_ the blond get annoyed with someone _else?_

"Who are they, senpai?" With a hint of emotion in both his voice and eyes today, Fran tugged at his friend's striped hoodie. He relaxed only when the boy turned to face him; seeing Bel visibly calming as well as his attention went to Fran made the younger's stomach do cartwheels; he loved knowing that he had this effect on the blond.

"I do game collabs with them." Bel's voice was a little quieter as he spoke to the teal-haired male, but when he begun to mash one of the buttons on his keyboard repeatedly, Fran could pick up on him becoming stressed once more. It made Fran's hands clench in annoyance; he didn't like to see his friend frazzled. "Their names are Spanner and Shoichi. I – God-fucking-damnit!"

Fran blinked at his senpai's sudden rage; he had missed what had brought this on as he hadn't been watching the monitor, but he listened as the boy continued to yell and curse while his friends tried calming him down from their own computers. "Senpai? What happened?"

The younger male hadn't seen the other angry like this before, and he could only guess something had happened on the game – what that was, he wasn't sure. When he looked at the screen to see if he was correct, he noticed the older male's character was standing outside of a closed door; was this the door one of the others had been talking about? So Bel had been too late and was throwing a hissy fit over it.

Of course he was; Bel always got pissy over the littlest thing.

"Senpai, are you really going to post a video of yourself having a mental breakdown over a videogame where people can see it?" Fran tried to talk some sense into the blond boy; how childish the other student could be at times…

Bel took a deep breath at these words in an attempt to force himself to calm down, but damnit, sometimes he got so angry…

The boy opened his mouth to respond, but he was stopped when his bedroom door was thrown open with a loud shout of, 'Shut the fuck up, trash!' and a large object flew past his head a second later. His eyes widened beneath his long bangs at this, and he flinched at the sound of shattering glass behind him, knowing what had happened; he had pissed off the resident couch potato taking advantage of Squalo's kindness and just barely escaped with his life.

Okay, so maybe it wasn't _that_ dramatic, but still; the man known as Xanxus _would_ have done damage if that was what he was aiming for.

Bel dropped to his knees in horror once he turned around and found a wineglass sticking out of what had once been an intact monitor screen. He let out a whimper as a second wineglass was thrown and shattered against the computer tower this time and wine seeped inside it quickly. The boy grabbed his hair in a dramatic fashion before whimpering, "My baby!"

Fran didn't say a word as he watched the way Bel unplugged the power-board from the wall and hugged his computer tight. He cocked his head to the side when the blond pulled his phone from his pocket and dialled Squalo, screaming about how he needed a hospital urgently.

"Squalo, you need to take me to the hospital right away! It's really bad, Squ! It's horrible!"

The panic in Bel's voice was all the man needed to hear for him to drop his clipboard to the desk as he stood up and ran from the office. He shouted something over his shoulder as the group he had been meeting with stared at him in confusion; all they saw was the man's long hair disappearing into the corridor.

Needless to say, when Squalo returned home in record time to usher Bel into his car, he wasn't very impressed to see the boy running to the vehicle with his computer in his arms, whimpering about how his 'precious' needed to see a 'doctor' right away.

 _ **~~XX~~**_

Fran sat with Bel in his room with their dinner that night. He ate in silence as he watched his friend play his PlayStation; the older male had calmed down once his computer had been put in for repairs and Squalo's yelling at his leeching friend had given him justice for the 'personal' attack on him, and he was now entertaining himself with yet again more videogames.

Goddamn, that kid always bounced back as if nothing had ever happened. Maybe he really _was_ in love with his games.

Fran couldn't help but stare at Bel as thoughts crossed his mind. The more time he spent with the volatile teen, the more he realised he really didn't know _anything_ about the other, except that he was a moody brat who hated leaving his bedroom at the best of times.

"Bel-senpai~" Fran waited for the boy to look back at him before he spoke again. "Are you a virgin?"

Bel's jaw dropped at this question. He stared in disbelief at the younger; what the _fuck_ had just brought that on? "…"

"Well?"

"Frog…" Bel gripped his controller tight as he felt a vein expanding in his temple; never before had someone asked him something so personal like this, and it agitated him; what business was it of theirs to know what he did in his personal life? "Why the _hell_ are you asking if I'm a virgin or not?"

"I thought it was a very reasonable question. I'm still a virgin, just so you know."

"A reasonable question is asking what my favourite food is, or what music I like, or what my hobbies are – not my sexual habits!" As embarrassed and flustered as he was feeling, Bel couldn't help but feel a twinge of excitement in both his crotch and his stomach; he had never really spoken to anyone about stuff like this before, but somehow, the idea of talking to _Fran_ was… rather appealing. "Why would you even think about that, anyway?"

"Because senpai is cute, and he could have anyone he wanted. Why _would_ senpai have not had sex yet?"

"Does it _look_ like I'd sleep around with my classmates?"

"Yes and no. If senpai wasn't so infatuated with his games, he'd probably have slept with many of his classmates."

The boy bonked the other on the head before he growled, "I've had sex with _one_ person, frog; I'm not a whore."

"Who did senpai lose it to?" Fran was truly intrigued to hear the answer when he noticed the sudden embarrassment that crossed Bel's face; by the looks of things, this was going to be some good blackmail material. "Senpai can tell me; I won't laugh – you know I'm not very good at laughing at anything, or else I'd probably be in hysterics when you tell me."

Bel sneered before he tried his best to swallow his embarrassment; he didn't want to give Fran the benefit of finding amusement in his hesitance because the younger could be plain cruel when he wanted to be. "…I… When I was younger, I found my sexuality very confusing, and I didn't know what or who I liked. So… I, uh… I asked Lussu to help me…"

"The drag queen." Even Fran couldn't keep the disgust from his tone. "You had your first time with the gender confused drag queen."

"…" Bel shrugged as he rubbed the back of his neck. "It wasn't that bad; he was careful with me and he made sure to get me used to his touches and kisses before we slept together. He was gentle and did his best to make it as painless as he could. We did it a few times and then I got my answer and then Lussu backed off."

"I'm surprised you didn't ask the long-haired dumbass to fuck you."

"I did." Bel shrugged again at the blank stare he was presented with. "I asked him but he said he was no pedo and would never do something like that to me while I was under eighteen. Then I asked Lussu, and he asked Squalo, and Squ hated it, but said it was not to be made a habit of and to knock it off as soon as I worked my orientation out."

Fran nodded in understanding. He moved closer to the older male, and he hardly noticed his fingers that were now dancing across Bel's thigh; he was too focused on staring at Bel's face. The blond noticed the touch, and he instinctively tensed beneath it. "What's it like?"

"What's what like?" Bel let out a shaky breath; this new situation was rather unnerving for him.

"To have sex."

"It was okay."

"Just okay?"

The boy looked down at this question. He hesitated to respond; would Fran understand the fact that he wanted to be with someone he loved and not just have meaningless sex? "It was with someone I wasn't romantically attracted to; I didn't completely enjoy it because of that reason."

"Do you think it would have been better with someone you loved?"

Bel stared into emerald eyes as he swallowed thickly; what was with all these questions? The blond nodded and licked his lips before he slowly placed his hand on top of Fran's, still sliding around on his thigh. He took a deep breath as he leant forward so that their faces were close enough for their hot breath to mingle; why he was doing this, he wasn't entirely sure – just that, in this moment, Fran had the most kissable pair of lips he had ever seen. "…"

Fran's heart sped up at this. His eyes searched desperately for obscured ones to look back into, but all he was met with was the older male's long bangs. He raised his hand and rested it against the other's pale cheek instead and could feel the warmth radiating beneath his palm. "…"

It was Bel who pressed their lips together, gently at first, testing to see whether or not he liked this. When he decided that he enjoyed kissing Fran, he deepened the kiss slowly until he was eventually coaxing the smaller male into opening his mouth.

Bel couldn't help but press his body against Fran's, intoxicated by the younger's taste. He didn't know why he was doing this; just that, having had that kind of conversation with him, he trusted the snarky child a little more and could allow feelings and emotions he had suppressed to come back out. He knew he had always been somewhat attracted to his fellow foster, but it had made him anxious to feel things for someone he hardly knew; he was always cautious when it came to his love life and he couldn't trust many people enough to let them as close as he was letting Fran right now.

When they broke apart for air, Bel couldn't help but stare into clouded emerald eyes. "…"

"Senpai…?" Fran's hand was still on Bel's cheek, and when he spoke, it was in a quivering tone.

"Shh…" The boy rested their foreheads together. He waited for a few seconds before he kissed the younger once more and pulled the other onto his lap so that his hardness could press against Fran's unaroused crotch. He couldn't help but rock his hips against his friend's before lowering his hands and undoing both of their belts.

"Hey, Bel, did you take my – what the fuck?"

Both teenagers looked to the door to find that Squalo had walked in unannounced. They couldn't help but feel annoyance to the man, but neither of them spoke; they were too busy trying to catch their own breaths.

"I don't even want to know." Squalo shook his head as he walked back out of the room, and he was sure to close the door behind him; if the two were going to do anything… _physical,_ he didn't want their noise flowing through the house.

Bel pushed Fran away and sulked as he pulled his blanket over his lap. He was upset that they had been interrupted just as they were getting to the good part; he didn't bother _Squalo_ when the Bucking Horse was fucking _him!_

Oh, wait. Yes, he did.

"Next time you invite yourself into my room and get me horny, lock the door behind you. Stupid frog…" As moody as ever, Bel hid beneath his blankets, too embarrassed to continue; now that he was thinking about it, what if he made a fool of himself in trying to be intimate with Fran? It wasn't exactly his first time, but he had always been on the receiving end of Lussuria's acts when he was younger; he had no experience, no idea on what he was doing now that he could be the dominant one; what if he messed up and made a complete embarrassment of himself? Fran was the last person Bel wanted to humiliate himself in front of in a situation like this, because the younger would never let him live it down.

"Leave me alone…" Wanting to sulk in peace about his failed attempt at _finally_ getting laid, Bel pulled his pillow beneath the blankets with him.

Fran shrugged. He didn't care in the least whether or not he would ever get far with Bel; sex wasn't high on his priority list, and he felt he could go his whole life without ever getting it. It wasn't something important to him, but he would like to one day experience how it felt for himself.

The younger left the room without another word and went back to his own to read a book. He didn't understand why Bel seemed to want sex so much, but he was sure it had something to do with the blond being overly-hormonal; he had never heard of someone going through life with near-constant erections over the tiniest of things, after all.

 _ **~~XX~~**_

Not long after Bel had fallen asleep in his make-shift nest, Squalo had taken it upon himself to stop at Fran's room and talk to the younger.

"What's going on with you and Bel?" Squalo leant against the doorframe as he waited patiently for a reply.

"I don't know." The teen put his book down before he rolled onto his side to look up at his guardian. "I just asked him if he was a virgin, and then he had his tongue down my throat and I think he was about to rape me."

"He's not going to _rape_ you, Fran; Bel's a lot of things, but he isn't like that." Squalo sighed as he threaded his gloved fingers through his hair. "Look; if you want a relationship or whatever with him, that's fine. But _don't_ lead him on."

"Why?"

"Because that's _my_ kid, and I know him. He would never have kissed you if he didn't trust you. He _likes_ you, whether he knows it himself or not. I don't give a fuck if you like him back or not – but don't you _dare_ let him think you like him back when you _don't_. If you do anything to hurt him, I won't get in between you two when Bel loses it."

"I don't know what I feel for him." Fran didn't know how to explain his current feelings – not when he himself didn't really understand them. How was he supposed to convey something he himself didn't know?

"Then _tell_ him that so he knows not to think you're in love with him or something. He doesn't understand romantics; he's very naïve when it comes to love. If you reciprocate his actions without telling him what you feel, he's going to assume you feel the same as him. He's never had a boyfriend or girlfriend before; if you two eventually become that, then make his first experience a good one."

"Yes, mum."

"I mean it, Fran. He's not going to know what he's doing, so be patient and _help_ him. If I hear you're making him more confused, you're in trouble."

"Is it even possible for a sixteen-year-old to remain dateless this long?" Fran blinked in disbelief; didn't all teenagers – except himself, of course – go out and fuck or date the first person they could?

Squalo sent his charge an unimpressed look. "Not every teen goes out and fucks everyone in sight. Bel's smarter than that; he wants it more than anything, but he respects himself. Plus, have you ever known him to get his ass out of that room for anything but food?"

Fran remained quiet; that was a point.

"I'm going to bed." Squalo looked up from his wristwatch and back to Fran. "Think about it, and tell Bel before he hurts _himself_."

Fran nodded. Squalo had a point, after all; Bel _was_ known to get way ahead of himself at times. But somehow, the more he thought about it, the more the idea of being Bel's first boyfriend sounded appealing. Would Bel understand if they were to trial it for a while, or would the blond think they truly were together?

Sighing, the teal-haired student finally turned off his lamp and closed his eyes; he could deal with this tomorrow.


	6. Chapter 6

"Good morning, Squ-Squ~"

Squalo looked up from his book as Bel's silky voice floated through the doorway of the living room. It had been a while since he had heard the boy sound so cheerful, but he was glad; it was hard to elicit such joy from the younger when he was away from his videogames. "Hey, brat. Why are you so happy today?"

Bel almost skipped his way over to his guardian, and he didn't hesitate to drop himself on the man's lap and curl up against Squalo. His smile was huge, and when he cocked his head to the side, his bangs parted just long enough for the man to catch sight of a bright spark in purple eyes. "Ushishi~ The prince kissed a froggy~"

"I know, brat. I walked in on it." Squalo couldn't help but smile as he patted soft golden locks affectionately; he loved seeing his charge so happy, because it was such a vast change from the miserable little boy he had taken in all those years ago.

"That means the froggy likes me~ Maybe he'll be my boyfriend~" After burying his face in against Squalo's chest, Bel let out a squeal of excitement.

"I don't know about that, Bel." Squalo put his hand on Bel's back and peered down at his charge. "That's something you and Fran have to talk about yourselves. I can't have a say in any of this."

Bel's smile grew even wider as he pulled his face away to look at his guardian. He brushed locks of silver hair from the man's face before he giggled and leant in close again to wrap his arms tight around his guardian's neck. "Silly Squ; of _course_ the froggy likes me, too~! He wouldn't have kissed me if he didn't~"

"Bel, it doesn't always work like that…" Squalo knew that Bel wouldn't listen to him in such an excited state, so he made a mental note to sit down with the blond later once he had calmed down and try to make him understand not to get so ahead of himself. He knew not to blame the boy for getting his hopes up; Bel didn't know any better and was only thrilled to think that he might finally be able to date. "Anyway, brat, your breakfast is on the table for you. Go take your medicine, eat your breakfast and then get ready for school."

"Icky medicine is icky, Squ-Squ." Bel scrunched his nose up in distaste; he had never liked medicine. It was fair enough, Squalo knew; the boy had had no other choice but to drug himself without missing a dose ever since the accident – it was either put up with having his body pumped full of drugs or live in excruciating pain for the short life he would undoubtedly be left with if he went down that path. Squalo knew his charge understood very well that, even with all of the medication and physical therapy he couldn't go without, Bel still might not get a long, healthy life – but the blond was stubborn, and he wanted to keep playing his videogames for as long as he could instead of being bedridden and dying.

"Yes, but icky medicine keeps the pain at bay." Squalo pushed lightly at the blond's shoulders to get Bel to his feet. "Go and take them, or you're going to be in pain all day at school."

Bel sighed before nodding, knowing that Squalo was right; he had tests all day today, so he couldn't skip school like he usually did. He kissed his guardian's cheek and hugged the man tight before going back to his room, humming a tune as he did so; he was so excited for when school finished because when he came home, he was going to take full advantage of the fact that he and Fran would have the house to themselves for a few hours.

The boy didn't think that Fran might not want to have sex; he was just so eager to finally be able to have it with someone he felt romantically interested in, he couldn't think past his own desires.

 _ **~~XX~~**_

When Bel walked home from school that afternoon, he found that he arrived at his driveway at the same time Fran's bus stopped at the kerb. He waited by the mailbox with a huge grin on his face, and as soon as his fellow foster stepped over to him, Bel wrapped his arms around the younger and crushed his lips against Fran's with bruising force. He didn't care who was around to see; he was just so happy he finally had a boyfriend - Bel had spent his whole day thinking about it, and there was no way Fran _wasn't_ his boyfriend after what they had almost shared yesterday, after all.

Fran pushed Bel away so that he could stare up at the taller male. "Senpai?"

"Shh…" Bel kissed the younger's forehead and turned him around to get Fran inside and into Bel's bed; he couldn't wait any longer; he had waited ever since he had hit puberty for this moment. "Don't talk, froggy; let's finish what we started yesterday. I've been horny all day thinking about this."

Fran knew the blond wasn't lying; he had felt the bulge in the boy's pants the second he had been hugged earlier. "But, senpai, I –"

Bel didn't let his friend finish what he was saying; he simply dragged Fran up to the front door, unlocked it, and then pulled the younger into his bedroom. Once they were inside it, he pushed the smaller male up against the wall and pressed his body firmly against the smaller one as his tongue demanded entrance into Fran's mouth. Grinding their hips together, he moaned.

In this moment, Bel didn't care about whether or not he stuffed up, or if he were any good at being the dominant one – hell, if he even embarrassed himself; he had been looking forward to this all day, and damnit, he was finally, _finally_ going to have sex; he had waited far too long for this moment, and he was deserving of every second.

Fran wasn't as excited as Bel was; he was complacent with being on the receiving end of things. Even so, he was feeling a little disappointed; while Bel seemed to be having the time of his life, Fran wasn't; his partner's kisses were fumbling and inexperienced, pleasant for the blond, but not very invigorating for the younger. Even the way the other student was grinding their hips together; Bel's actions were too erratic for him to consistently grind the right parts, and more often than not, it was Fran's thighs he was rubbing against.

Fran sighed, pulling away from the kiss. "Senpai is terrible at this."

Bel growled. He pulled Fran's face back to his so he could kiss the younger some more to try and hide the fact that he didn't like those words at all. "It's my first time being on top; I'm learning, you stupid frog…"

"The sex is going to be terrible." Fran didn't see the hurt in Bel's eyes, but he did notice that the boy's actions hesitated slightly. He didn't acknowledge it; he just said, "It might be good for you but it's going to be the worst sex I've ever had."

"You haven't even _had_ sex!" Bel reached down to unclip his belt and then do the same for Fran. He tried to hide his hurt and the embarrassment he _knew_ would occur, and he forced himself to keep going; he didn't want to give Fran the satisfaction of stopping now.

"Yeah, but even so, I bet if I had, it would be better than this."

Not replying to these words, Bel followed his urges, truly having no idea what he was doing, but hoping he was doing _something_ right.

Somehow, when Bel reached his climax in little time, he knew Fran had barely even been hard during, and that was the worst blow to his pride in his entire life.

 _ **~~XX~~**_

Having held Fran close as he drifted into sleep afterwards, Bel woke up to someone opening his door. After lifting his head from his pillow to see who it was, he frowned sleepily at Squalo, who was standing in the doorway. "…"

"It's okay; go back to sleep." Speaking in a quiet tone so he didn't disturb Fran, Squalo made sure to focus on Bel's face; he didn't want to look at the two naked bodies on top of the blankets. "I was just checking on you two."

Having barely noticed the darkness that had engulfed his bedroom by now, Bel nodded. He lay back down and buried his face in against teal hair. While he inhaled the scent of strawberries, the boy closed his eyes again and pulled Fran tighter against him.

Bel listened to his bedroom door shutting softly before he closed his eyes again. He hoped that if Fran wanted to do it with him again after… after _that…_ then Bel would be better next time. After all, if they were to be boyfriends, then he had to learn how to please his lover as much as possible – that was what a good relationship was, in his opinion.


	7. Chapter 7

Bel sat in class the next day, staring out of the window with his chin in his palm. He was lost in thought, thinking about Fran; he had been anxious to wake up that morning and find that Fran had left the house altogether two hours earlier than he should have. The more he thought about it, the more he couldn't understand why Fran would want to leave him in order to go to school early, and he couldn't help but feel pain in his chest; had he done something to scare Fran away…?

Bel looked back to the front of the class when he heard the door opening, and he found that the student messenger had a note for the teacher. He cocked his head to the side when the balding man looked directly at him with a look he knew all too well; pity. But _why_ would the man be giving him pity so out of the blue? The teacher only ever openly displayed it towards Bel whenever the blond's pain control medication failed and he could only curl up at his desk and cry in pain until Squalo came to carry him out of class and to the car so that he could come home.

"Belphegor, please gather your belongings and then meet your emergency guardian out the front of the school."

Bel frowned at these words, and he hesitated to get up; why was his emergency guardian here for him? He had no appointments with his doctor or neurosurgeon until next week, so why…? Why was Dino here and not Squalo?

Bel grabbed his textbooks from the desk and then went out to the corridor to get his bag. He walked slowly, not sure he wanted to complete his journey; what news was waiting for him outside?

It felt like an eternity had passed before Bel finally made it outside and was getting into Dino's red BMW. His movements were shaky, and when he was finally sitting in the front passenger seat with his bag on his lap, he couldn't help but stare down at his knees; was Dino about to deliver news that would be just like what he had been told all those years ago…?

Dino was quiet for a few minutes as he pulled away from the kerb and drove down the road. He was driving slower than he normally would, something he and Squalo only ever did when the boy was in the car with them and feeling vulnerable from his car crash. Bel wasn't oblivious to this, and it made his heart race; had… had something happened to someone…?

"Squalo's in hospital."

Bel flinched at these words. His trembling increased as he lifted his hands to his ears; he didn't want to hear anything more just yet. "…"

Dino waited for Bel to speak. He knew not to force so much information on the younger at once, not when he was already stressed like this; it would only stir up memories Bel was still trying to recover from.

When Bel spoke, it was in a quivering tone that didn't sound far from tears. "Is he… alive…?"

"He's alive," Dino promised. "He's doing well; he's okay, Bel. He won't die on you."

"Promise…?" That voice was so tiny, so full of agony. So… _not Bel_ , and it broke Dino's heart.

"I promise, Bel. You're not going to lose him so easily." The man reached out to wipe away the single tear sliding down the smaller blond's cheek before he offered a comforting smile. "I'm sure he's going to be fine very soon."

Not wanting to hear the answer but asking the question anyway, Bel whispered, "What happened…?"

"He doesn't remember; I think he fell asleep." Dino didn't miss the way Bel flinched at this, and he hesitated before continuing; he didn't want to upset the boy more than he already was, after all. "There were a few cars involved from what I was told, but I don't think anyone was seriously injured."

Bel reached up to rub at his eyes, and he couldn't help but tense more than he already was. "…"

"He's going to be _fine,_ " Dino promised once more. "I went out and saw him and he asked me to come and get you so he could see you. He's going to be okay."

"That's what they said about _me_ …" The boy wiped hastily at his wet cheeks as he shook his head. "They said I would be okay, but I'm not…"

"Bel…"

"I miss them…" Bel dropped his head and closed his eyes tight as he gripped his pants. "…My family… I think about them every day and try to work out why I was the only one who survived… My family… The other people in those cars… And the truck driver… They all died… And everyone thought I was going to, as well… Then I pulled through and I was in hospital for a few months until I could walk again, and the nurses said I would be okay once all the damage finished healing… But they _lied_ …"

When Dino grabbed Bel's hand to hold it reassuringly, he wasn't surprised to feel thin fingers wrap tightly around his own. The boy rarely talked about his past as he found it very difficult, but now that he was opening up, he needed love and support; just because Bel was so happy with Squalo didn't mean he wasn't suffering from what had brought him to the man in the first place. "I know they lied to you, Bel. But please, try and have some positivity; it will just make you feel worse to stress. Okay?"

Bel nodded. He fell silent as he remembered how many people had died along with his family that day. It had seemed so normal as they waited for the red light to turn green, and then…

Bel had never felt fear like he had when the brakes on the truck approaching them had failed and in an attempt to avoid a collision, the driver turned the wheel and jack-knifed the trailers, taking out four lanes of traffic and a few cars unlucky enough to have been going through the intersection at that moment when the truck rolled next.

The boy thought about it day and night, remembering how the line of cars behind their own had been slammed into the back of it, and he had been thrown through the windshield of their car and in the path of the rolling trailers as a result of the velocity of their impacts. He swore he was about to be crushed, but it had gone over him, crushing his family's car and the ones around it instead. He had laid on the road for what felt like forever, screaming and crying in agony as witnesses stood frozen in horror.

Why had _he_ survived when no one else had…?

"Dino!" Bel yelped, instinctively grabbing his seatbelt and holding on for dear life when he felt his side of the BMW dip from the groove in the road. His eyes were wide as his heart sped up, and fresh tears slid down his cheeks; he didn't want to die – he wanted to _live_.

"It's alright, Bel. You're safe. See? No other traffic around and I'm still in control. Nice and safe."

Bel hesitantly let go of his seatbelt and sniffed back a few tears. He found it hard getting into vehicles, even as a passenger; the traffic on the road terrified him with their unpredictability, and even the slightest bump, the smallest movement he didn't expect was enough to send him into a panic. As lazy as he was, he would much rather walk places instead of driving, finding driving to just be too much for him.

Car crashes hurt, and Bel had already had his feel of trauma-related pain to last him the rest of his life.

 _ **~~XX~~**_

When they arrived at the hospital, Bel continuously rubbed at his wet eyes as he followed Dino through the winding corridors he hated so much. He remembered them all too well from his own stay here eight years ago, and he had never been more relieved when it came time to leave them for his new home with Squalo; he hated being cooped up in a bed all day every day with disgusting hospital food; he wanted to be able to move around again and eat all of the snacks and takeaway meals the long-haired man snuck in for him to eat.

Bel remembered how kind and gentle Squalo had been with him. He had instantly taken the boy into his care, knowing just how deep in medical bills he was going to find himself in, but he hadn't cared; he had come to sit by Bel's hospital bed, day after day, just wanting them to get to know each other. Even after the boy had left in a wheelchair, Squalo had never minded the extensive care his new charge required; he had been patient with the frightened, distressed child, letting Bel sleep in his bed with him at night and taking him to doctors and specialists every week to make sure his healing was going well.

Squalo had sacrificed so much for Bel, done so much for him, and given him so much love, and Bel had never thanked him for any of it.

"This is his room, Bel." Looking down at the smaller male, Dino grabbed Bel's hand and squeezed it tight. "Are you ready?"

Bel nodded after taking a deep breath. He stepped into the room behind Dino and then tugged his hand from the other's as he ran towards Squalo, seeing him laying upright on the bed.

"Squ!" Leaning against the bed, Bel bit his lip as he noticed the bandages and casts scattered along Squalo's body. He tried to fight back his tears, but it was no good; it was agonising to see his favourite person like this.

"Don't cry, brat." Squalo extended his unbroken arm and tugged Bel onto the bed with him. He allowed the boy to curl up against his side, and he threaded his fingers through silky golden hair. He had known how stressed his charge was going to be, and it hurt him to know that he was the reason Bel was so upset. "I'm okay. I promise."

Letting his tears come harder, Bel let out a sob. "Squ-Squ… D-don't die…"

"I'm not going to die." His words were slightly slurred from morphine, but Squalo continued stroking his charge's hair. "I'm not, Bel. I'm really okay. My leg and arm are broken, but that's it; that's the worst of it, okay? It'll heal in a few weeks."

"They're only saying that to make you feel better…" Bel hiccupped as he pulled himself onto Squalo's lap. He buried his face against the man's chest before he whispered, "They only say those things, but they don't mean it… They lie…"

Dino watched the two, and his heart broke at just how much Bel resembled the lost little boy he had been so long ago. Bel had come so far from that, growing up into the happy, albeit moody teen he was who loved his simple life. To see him like this…

"What happened?"

The older blond turned around at Fran's voice and was glad to see the youngest received his message to catch the bus to the hospital. "Squalo had a car collision."

"Senpai looks like Squalo _did_ die." Fran blinked at the scene before him. He couldn't help but feel a pang of sympathy towards his friend; he knew Bel and Squalo were very close with each other, but he had underestimated it until now; from what he was seeing, he wouldn't be surprised if Bel's world revolved around the long-haired man just as much as it did games. It would certainly explain why the blond spent the most time with his guardian over everyone else.

And then, hearing Bel speak words to Squalo that Fran thought he would never hear come from the blond's mouth at all, the boy whimpered, "I love you so much, Squalo… Please don't die…"

"I love you, too, brat." Squalo let Bel lay with him and never stopped playing with silky strands of blond hair until the boy calmed down.

When Bel was a little more composed, he reached out and tugged at loose threads on the hospital blanket. "Can I stay with Squ…?"

"Of course you can." Squalo sent a tired look to Dino at this. "Can you bring him back his favourite sushi?"

Dino nodded, willing to do anything for Bel in this moment; whatever it took to put a smile back onto the younger's face. Turning to Fran, he asked, "Are you coming with me or staying here?"

"I'll come with you." Not wanting to see his senpai so upset, Fran was glad for the offer; he didn't like seeing Bel hurting.

 _ **A/N**_ **I guess this chapter is a little bit of venting. I've been having constant trouble myself due to injuries received in a car collision, though said collision was nothing as horrifying or serious as Bel's situation. Someone wasn't paying attention to the road and slammed into me with a trailer on the back of their car for added weight. Speeding in wet weather, to make the icing on the cake. I walked away from it with back and neck pain and a bad headache, went to the hospital and was told I'd be fine if I wore a neck brace for two weeks. But turns out that even though it wasn't a horrific collision, it was still enough to cause permanent damage and even a possible head injury, despite me being unable to recall if my head hit anything or not.**

 **Anyway, the point of this is to say that if you, or anyone you know has a car crash and even if you walk away from it and feel fine, please, PLEASE go to a hospital or your doctor and get this followed up. My doctor who was usually so good dismissed everything I told her about the excruciating pain the collision had caused and said it was nothing. So did every other doctor I went to. And then when someone finally listened to me and was willing to help me, it turns out it might be too late. So please; even in a minor accident, do yourself a favour and get yourself checked out. Don't be a pushover like I am or worry about being a bother to people like I do; be assertive because it could mean the difference between a life of constant pain and getting treatment before it gets to that stage.**


	8. Chapter 8

When Squalo came home from hospital the next day, he hadn't had the heart to tell Bel to go to school. The boy had been spending all of his time with him, making sure he was comfortable and okay. Bel had been so worried, Squalo finally gave in and allowed him to take time off school; if the student even went in his condition, he wouldn't have paid attention anyway.

Now, as Squalo relaxed on the couch with the TV playing, he could hear his charge banging around in the kitchen. Whatever the boy was doing, he wasn't sure, but never before had Bel taken the initiative to feed himself if that was what he was up to; the only times he ever walked into the kitchen himself was to ask what was for their meals and to tell Squalo that he was hungry and wanted food.

Squalo almost wanted to call out and tease his kid about this, but he was too tired to do so; he just wanted to rest and watch TV – now he could understand why Bel had slept so much when he first came to live with Squalo; pain medication and healing injuries were exhausting.

However long later, Squalo's nostrils were assaulted by the foulest stench he had ever smelt, and it seemed to be coming closer to him with each passing second. He could almost throw up then and there; never before had he smelt something so foul.

"Squ~ Look~ I made us lunch~" Bel bounded back into the living room with two bowls of food in his hands. Sure enough, they were the source of the odour that smelt like rotten food with a touch of spoiled milk.

Squalo shook his head rapidly as he scrambled backwards on the couch. "You keep that shit away from me, trash! That smells like Lussuria's underwear drawer!"

"Aww, but Squalo, I went through all the trouble of making my own recipe for you~ Try it~" His smile never faltered as Bel dropped one of the bowls onto Squalo's lap before dipping the spoon into his own liquid-solid concoction that looked as bad as it smelt. He took one bite before wincing and gagging, shaking his head seconds later. "You're right, Squ; don't eat that."

"I had no intention to!" Squalo passed the bowl back to its creator and waited impatiently until Bel took them both back into the kitchen and disposed of the evidence. He wasn't surprised when, minutes later, the boy returned and cuddled up with him on the couch, seemingly content with where he was at this point in his life.

"Ne, Squalo?" Laying on his back and raising his hand to play with soft silver locks, Bel held an inquisitive look on his face. "Was Dino shit when he fucked you for the first time?"

Squalo shrugged, wondering what had brought this on. Was it because of Fran? Had their first time together not been so enjoyable for one or both of them? "He wasn't too bad. Took him a bit to get better, but he worked it out."

Bel frowned and curled a lock of Squalo's hair around his finger before saying, "I don't think Fran enjoyed it at all… He wasn't even all that hard…"

"Let me guess; you jumped right into the sex and skipped the foreplay?"

"…"

At Bel's silence, Squalo knew his suspicions were correct. "Bel, you don't just have sex with someone like that! That's now how relationships work. Oh, never mind… Brat, foreplay can be important for your partner. Not everyone can just jump into sex like you can."

"But foreplay is for women. Fran is a frog."

"Some guys enjoy foreplay and Fran may be one of them. You might not care about foreplay for yourself, but a lot of men really like it and don't want to just fuck straight off the bat."

"Does Squ like foreplay?"

Squalo nodded. "So does the Bucking Horse."

"Oh. What should I do for foreplay?" Bel looked at Squalo like the man held all the answers as he waited for a response.

"Jesus Christ, Bel; I thought you watched porn…" Face-palming, Squalo shook his head; then again, he shouldn't let pornography teach Bel everything – look at what had already happened from all the countless porn the boy had consumed over the years; he had no idea what he was doing with Fran. "There's lots you can do for foreplay. You can jerk each other off or give each other blowjobs. The Bucking Horse usually pays attention to my chest and stomach with his mouth. That feels good; maybe try that."

"What do I do?"

"Just give him some nips, some sucking and licking at his nipples and other sensitive spots he has. Maybe even leave him some hickies here and there."

"Do you think Fran would like that?" Hoping that Fran would, Bel cocked his head to the side; he wanted so badly to be able to pleasure the younger.

"I don't see why he wouldn't, but it really comes down to what Fran likes. You should talk to him about this, Bel. It's _him_ you'll be sleeping with, after all."

Bel nodded, snuggling in closer. "Hey, Squ?"

"Yeah?"

"I didn't…" Shifting uncomfortably now, Bel frowned. "…The morning after we slept together… Fran went to school early… I didn't… scare him off, did I…? Because he hasn't been annoying me…"

Squalo sighed as be patted Bel's head. He grunted in discomfort as he moved his injured leg to try and find a position that wouldn't agitate the wounds; he was finding it difficult to put up with a broken leg, and he couldn't imagine how his charge had coped with the aftermath of having snapped his spine almost completely in half with torn muscles and ligaments, severed nerves and a shattered pelvis and shoulder to top things off – it wasn't until now did he realise just how brave Bel had been to make such a big recovery, even if he was still limited in what activities and actions he could do for the rest of his life. "You didn't scare him off; he just knows you've been stressed lately. You really worried him when he saw you with me at the hospital."

Bel buried his face against Squalo's chest and hummed; as long as Fran didn't hate him, he didn't mind a bit of peace. "…"

Squalo smiled, glad that Bel was quietening down; the boy had even taken a break from his games to keep his guardian company, so it was understandable for the younger to be on edge; his videogames helped keep him calm and relaxed. "Try and take a nap; the Bucking Horse will be back with lunch soon."

Bel nodded and allowed his eyes to slip closed; he _was_ pretty tired. "What is he getting?"

"He's bringing back sushi for you and pasta for us. Get some rest."

"Okay." With that said, Bel allowed himself to finally drift into sleep.

 _ **~~XX~~**_

When Bel was awoken a little later, it was to Dino shaking his shoulders. He sat up with a yawn and accepted the container of sushi that was handed to him before he leant heavily against his guardian. He was still rather tired; he hadn't realised how exhausted he was until he had fallen asleep to the soothing warmth of Squalo.

"The Bucking Horse will take you to get your computer from the repair shop once you've eaten." Squalo himself was tired as well, so it wasn't surprising to hear him speak in a quiet voice. "Don't forget my credit card."

Bel hummed, too tired to show his excitement. He nibbled at his sushi before he put the lid back on the container and curled up along the couch with his head in Squalo's lap, fully prepared to go back to sleep; he knew he was fatigued when he couldn't even bring himself to eat his favourite food.

"Has he slept at all?" Dino sat across from the younger two on one of the chairs to leave them be; he knew that neither of them were in the mood to be annoyed by a third person taking up their legroom.

"I don't think so. His back was hurting him again last night." Squalo patted the boy's head at this. He knew he would never be able to explain how much he loved his charge; he loved Bel like his own child.

"Let him sleep." Dino put his container down so that he could move to Bel's side and scoop the boy into his arms. "Fran will be home soon; I'll put him in his room."

Squalo nodded. He knew Bel needed rest because the smaller blond rarely allowed himself to have it; he was always pushing himself to stay awake and play videogames until he passed out on the keyboard.

The man waited until his boyfriend had put Bel to bed before he sat up upon hearing the older male approaching once more. He extended his good arm when Dino was close enough, pulling the blond close to him.

"I love you, Squalo." Dino pressed his lips to the younger's and smiled as he wrapped his arms around the smaller man.

Squalo hummed back in response, aware of the light tint of red crossing his cheeks. He tugged at the stronger male's shirt impatiently, telling the other what he wanted. To his relief, Dino didn't hesitate to obey and pulled the material up and over his head before doing the same to his boyfriend.

 _ **~~XX~~**_

Not long after Bel had woken up, Dino had driven him into town to get his newly-fixed computer. Now that the boy had set it back up on his desk, he was catching up on all of the gaming he had missed. Fran had come back to annoy him, and the younger was insistent on playing with him. Bel had allowed it at first, but then the blond started acting strange.

"Bel-senpai?" Looking at his friend when the mouse was taken from his hand, Fran gave the older male his usual blank face.

"Dino said we should go on a date tonight~" Bel wrapped his arms around the smaller body and smiled as he nuzzled into the warm skin of Fran's neck. "Let's go on a date~"

"Senpai, I don't –" Trying to explain to Bel that they shouldn't be rushing into dates like this when Fran hadn't even been asked out yet, Fran sighed when he was cut off by the over-excited teen.

"What does Froggy want to do~?" Bel's mouth formed an 'o' as he realised something important; what did couples do on their dates? Fidgeting nervously, Bel glanced to the side, unknown to his 'boyfriend'; what if Fran told him to choose their date and he made an even bigger fool of himself than when they had had their first time together?

Play it cool, Belphegor. Play it cool.

"The prince was thinking that Froggy should pick our date tonight, because the prince enjoyed their sex more than the Froggy did. The prince wants to do something Froggy will enjoy lots and lots."

Perfect. He'll never know. Mental thumbs up.

"But, senpai, I don't want to go on a date."

"Of course you do, Froggy~ Who _wouldn't_ want to go on a date with me?" His smile brightened as Bel hummed, waiting for Fran to make his mind up.

"I'm not your –" Fran tried to tell the blond that they weren't boyfriends; what had even made the other think this in the first place? He allowed his expressionless mask to slip in frustration; why was Bel so delusional at times?

"Oh! The prince has an idea~" The boy bounced around on his chair like the overgrown child he was as he giggled. "Ushishi~ Let's go to a strip club~!"

Even Fran couldn't stop his eyes from widening at this suggestion; what… the fuck…? "…"

"Come on, Froggy~!" Bel got up from his chair and tugged at the younger's arm in unbridled excitement. "Let's go~!"

Fran shook his head once he finally composed himself. "Senpai, I'm only fifteen; I can't get into strip clubs even if I wanted to. And you can't either; they don't let in sixteen-year-olds."

"Yeah, but that's only if we go through the front entrance! I know how to get into them without showing my ID~"

"Senpai… How many strip clubs have you _been_ to…?" Fran mentally prepared himself; he could see his senpai doing a lot of things, but he had never thought the boy would sneak into strip clubs at his young age.

Then again, that _was_ something Fran could see Bel doing now that he was thinking about it.

"A couple~ They're fun, but don't tell Squalo I go there sometimes or he'll be angry at me."

"Senpai wants to take me on a date… to a _strip club…_ " Feeling at a loss with this situation, Fran closed his eyes. "I'm not going."

Bel's smile faltered at this as confusion crossed his face. "Why not? Don't you want to go on a date…?"

"No, senpai. I don't." Fran didn't miss the way Bel instantly dropped his head at this, and he continued on, knowing the blond was finally listening to him. "I'm not even your boyfriend, but for some reason, you seem to think I am. But I'm not."

"But… We… We kissed, and… and we…"

"I don't know what came over me the first time we kissed, but that other time? I couldn't have told senpai to stop even if I wanted to; he wouldn't have listened to me."

"…"

"I'm not your boyfriend, senpai."

"…" Bel lifted his head slightly and peered out from beneath his long bangs at the younger. "…Do you… But… You… You… like me… Right…?"

How was Fran supposed to respond to this? Did he admit that no matter how hard he thought about it, he wasn't one-hundred percent certain of his feelings? Or did he lie and say yes because the other honestly looked as if he were heartbroken? "…"

"I really like Froggy…" A childish pout formed on Bel's face as he looked down at his lap. "And I thought Froggy liked me back… I don't… I… I'm not a slut… I only did it because I… I really like you…"

"I know senpai isn't a slut," Fran promised. Deciding that a little white lie wouldn't hurt, he said, "I like senpai, too. Senpai just shouldn't have assumed I was his boyfriend or that I wanted to go on dates. Senpai should have asked."

His smile reappeared back on his face as Bel wrapped his arms around Fran and dropped his chin on the younger's shoulder; he had been so scared Fran was mad at him. "Will Froggy be my boyfriend?"

Deciding he didn't want to be the one to wipe Bel's happy smile – albeit creepy at times, too – from his face, Fran nodded; surely it wouldn't hurt if he just went along with this for a little while? "Okay, senpai."

Bel squealed happily. His body went through joyful spasms for a few seconds before he pushed Fran to the bed and kissed him senseless. He couldn't stop himself from clambering on top of the smaller male and grinding their hips together; he just got so excited at times, and he couldn't help it.

"Senpai, don't." Pushing the other off of him, Fran sighed; why was it up to _him_ to teach Bel how to behave himself?

"Why?" Pouting once more, Bel stopped moving. "But we're boyfriends now; we can have sex~"

"Yes, but senpai, I don't have such high levels of hormones. Surely you understand how this works, right? Not everyone is always as horny as you are."

"Froggy just isn't in the mood?" Bel smiled in a dopy manner when he received confirmation in response. He nodded as he laid down next to Fran and pulled the younger into his arms; as much as he wanted to have sex again, he was happy to cuddle; he had always loved laying in bed at night and daydreaming about when he would finally have someone to hold in his arms. "Okay, then~ The prince will wait for Froggy to be in the mood~"

Fran was glad Bel was working with him to make whatever they had work; he had expected for the blond to be pushy when it came to what he wanted, and though the blond _was_ a little insistent, it wasn't too bad; Bel was backing off once he started to understand things.

"Is Froggy horny yet?"

Fran sighed at the whisper against his ear that came not even a minute after they had laid down. "No, senpai."

"Okay~" Five minutes elapsed. "What about now?"

"No."

"…"

"…"

"…"

"…"

"Now?"

Letting out an annoyed groan, Fran rolled around to face the other. "Senpai, if you keep asking me, I will never be horny again in my life. Please keep it in your pants and I will tell you when I am."

"'kay~" Nuzzling his nose against Fran's neck, Bel smiled. "Froggy?"

"Yeah?"

"I'm really horny."

"I know you are, senpai. When are you not?"

"Shishishi~ I'm never not horny~ …Hey, Froggy?"

"Yeah?"

"How long does it usually take Froggy to get horny?"

Fran sighed again. This wasn't going to be a walk in the park, that was for sure.


	9. Chapter 9

Within the weeks that had passed, Bel seemed happier than he had ever been now that he had Fran. He spent as much time with the boy as he could tolerate for someone as unsociable as him, and he had been slumbering more at night, even if he still stayed up late with his videogames and then crept into Fran's room to cuddle until he fell asleep.

Bel was doing well, and that was what everyone wanted to see.

"Senpai…?" Fran slowly sat up in his bed as he heard a muffled noise coming from beside him. His mind was hazy from sleep, but he could feel Bel's body heat next to him, though he hadn't woken when the other came to join him. Glancing at the clock on the bedside table, he found it was almost four in the morning.

"Nghn…" As Fran had suspected, Bel was whimpering in pain.

"Senpai, are you okay?" Fran put his hands on quivering shoulders and rolled Bel onto his back. "Senpai?"

"Nghn… F-froggy…" Bel groaned loudly before he lifted shaking hands to rip at his hair before he pulled his knees to his chest and curled into a tight ball. His head was splitting, and he felt like he was about to throw up. "H-hurts…"

Fran got out of bed to turn the light on, but he quickly shut it back off when it elicited a pained cry from Bel. Not knowing what to do, he said, "I'll get Squalo, senpai."

Bel could only whimper again, wanting nothing more than for his migraine to go away; please let there be ibuprofen left…

Fran didn't waste his time wandering from bedroom to bedroom in search of someone, but all he found was empty beds; trust the damn party animals to still be out living it up at this time of morning. He went back to his room to get his phone, and he wished there was something he could do when Bel let out a particularly loud moan as he writhed on the bed; he hated to see the other like this, but he truly had no idea what to do.

The younger took his phone from the bedside table and left the room to give Squalo a call; he didn't know if talking would agitate the other's migraine or not, but he didn't want to chance it; he had seen Bel in pain before, but not like this, and he honestly wasn't sure if his friend was okay.

After dialling in Squalo's number, Fran didn't have to wait long for an answer; when Squalo picked up not even five seconds later, it was with an annoyed grunt. "What do _you_ want, trash?"

"Ah, the long-haired dumbass sounds as grumpy as ever. You're drunk, aren't you?"

"Fuck off! Why are you awake?!"

"Yes, the stupid long-haired dumbass is very drunk; I can tell by the way you're taking your anger out on me."

"Fucking Christ, Fran; why are you calling me at four in the morning?!"

"Senpai needs help."

"…" There was mumbling on the other end of the line before Squalo spoke again, and the loud music in the background slowly become quieter as the man presumably left wherever he was. "What's wrong with him?"

"I think he has a migraine."

"Okay. Bucking Horse is bringing me home now. We'll stop and get painkillers for him on the way."

Fran nodded and farewelled his guardian before ending the call and going back to his room to sit on the bed beside Bel. He was happy Squalo had volunteered to foster him after his grandmother had passed away because he liked how caring the man was towards his charges. He was rough around the edges, excruciatingly loud most of the time, but even so, he had a bigger heart than anyone else Fran had ever met – he was allowing an entire group of friends to live in his home without paying rent because they didn't have anywhere else to go, and if that wasn't enough, had been the one to take Bel in when he knew full-well he would be forking out thousands upon thousands of dollars in medical costs for the entirety of his guardianship of the boy.

And to be honest, Fran had never heard Squalo complain once about Bel, or even Fran or the other adults mooching off of him. It was almost as if the man liked how things were, as if he wouldn't have it any other way.

And knowing Squalo, that probably was the case; Fran had always known the man possessed a bit of a paternal streak, even if he wouldn't admit it out loud to anyone.

 _ **~~XX~~**_

When Dino dropped Squalo home half an hour later before going back to the nightclub to make sure everyone else was okay, the long-haired man was quick to find himself in Fran's room to check on Bel. By now, the blond was curled into a tight ball as he cried softly from the pain in his head that had only grown worse.

"Brat?" Squalo kept the light off as he traversed the dark room with a glass of water and painkillers in hand. He sat next to Bel, putting everything on the bedside table before he slowly coaxed his charge into a sitting position; it wasn't surprising that the boy didn't want to move in the slightest with how bad he was feeling. "I've got ibuprofen for you. Come on. Sit up."

Bel finally did as told. He whimpered pitifully as he squeezed his eyes shut tight and accepted the water and the tablets, but he was feeling too nauseas to be able to swallow them so easily; after a bit of wary hesitation and slight gagging, he finally got them down.

"Easy, Bel." After laying Bel back down on the mattress, Squalo laid with him and stroked golden locks slowly. "It's okay. You're okay. If it still hurts, you can have paracetamol in an hour. Shh…"

Fran sat at his desk as he watched the two, seeing how Bel curled in against Squalo as he sought the man's warmth like a baby animal. The blond continued whimpering and moaning for a while, but he slowly quietened down when the painkillers started kicking in, and soon enough, he was fast asleep once more in Squalo's arms.

Squalo didn't let go of Bel; he continued stroking the younger's hair. Speaking to Fran, he said, "You can sleep in mine or Bel's bed tonight if you want, Fran; Bucking Horse is going back to his own home once he brings the others back."

Fran nodded, glad that Bel was okay again; he had hated watching the scene before him because he knew that must have been an extreme amount of pain to make the blond cry. He got up from his chair and left the room in silence so that he could go to Squalo's bedroom to sleep. Hopefully Bel would be okay tomorrow.

 _ **~~XX~~**_

Bel's migraine had gone away with the painkillers, and come the next afternoon, he was feeling well enough to go into town with Squalo and Dino. Fran was tagging along with them, willing to follow his senpai to the ends of the earth and back. As it stood, the two were sitting in the back seat of Squalo's new car, and the youngest couldn't help but glare as he watched Bel type away at his phone instead of paying attention to him.

"Senpai~" Fran tapped at the offending screen in order to get his point across. "Why are you messaging someone else instead of talking to me? Senpai needs to cut his bangs; maybe he doesn't see that I'm sitting right next to him in the car."

Bel growled and pulled his phone away from his boyfriend's fingers; he didn't like people touching what was his, and Fran was no exception. "I haven't seen them in ages; the little peasants like my YouTube channel, so when they met me in person, the little brunet almost fainted, shishi~ Tsunayoshi messages me every now and then, and he's fun to play with~ Gets so scared easily~"

"Senpai, I don't like that." The younger tried to tug Bel's phone away so that the blond couldn't talk to anyone else. Fran wasn't even sure why he was so jealous at this sudden thought; it wasn't as if he even knew his proper feelings, so why was it bothering him to know that Bel's attention was on someone else? "What if he likes you?"

Bel attempted to push Fran away from him, and he swore at the younger as he quickly became annoyed; he liked having his personal space in cars more than anywhere else, and this was quickly stressing him out. "Fran, get lost!"

"But, senpai, don't talk to – senpai?" Fran blinked as he noticed the way Bel had completely frozen at the loud thump that sounded in the front of the car. He looked absolutely terrified, his muscles rigid, and if Fran wasn't mistaken, the boy's skin was paling more than it naturally was. "Senpai, what happened?"

"Fucking birds; already cracked the fucking window on my new car…" Squalo muttered to himself as he glared at the small crack in the middle of the windshield; a flock of birds had been flying past, and two of them had hit the windshield.

Dino looked over his shoulder into the backseat and smiled at Bel. "Squalo just hit some birds. It's okay."

Bel's panic-stricken expression didn't go away at this; he just raised a trembling hand and tapped his door. "…"

Dino knew this motion well; Bel wanted for Squalo to pull the car over. Looking back at his lover, he explained the situation, knowing the long-haired male would stop at the first opportunity he had; Squalo was the one who had taught the boy to signal when he had had enough, and he would never force his kid to remain in a situation he didn't like.

Fran cocked his head. He knew for a fact that Bel rarely got into cars and would only do so if it wasn't practical for him to walk somewhere – in fact, he was sure he had only seen Bel get into a car maybe three or four times since he had been here. "Senpai has extreme anxiety with vehicles."

"He's been in a car crash, Fran." Squalo indicated as he pulled up next to the car he wanted to reverse behind. He lined the side mirror of his new Mercedes with the one on the other car and turned his wheel once before he started reversing. "Leave him alone; he's allowed to be anxious in cars."

Fran knew that was fair. He himself had never been in a car accident, and not knowing the details of Bel's own, he truly had no idea how reasonable the blond was being. He knew he shouldn't judge, but it was strange to see Bel clam up just because of a thump; usually Bel was a lot stronger than this, and there wasn't much that fazed him.

When at last the car was stopped, Bel couldn't have gotten out onto solid ground any faster if he tried; he stood on the sidewalk, trembling as Dino and Squalo came to stand with him.

"You okay, brat?" Tucking stray strands of gold behind Bel's ear, Squalo frowned; he was glad his own collision hadn't traumatised him like Bel's had. "It was just some stupid birds; nothing to be scared about."

Bel wiped at his eyes with his sleeve before he wrapped his arms around himself. "I wanna walk the rest of the way…"

Squalo sighed. "It's a long walk, Bel."

"I know… Please, don't make me get back in the car…" Bel let out a sob at this and hugged himself tighter.

"Alright." Looking to Dino, Squalo frowned at his boyfriend. "Can you walk with him?"

"Yeah, of course." The older blond took Bel's hand as he stepped closer to the younger. "When you're ready, Bel."

Squalo patted his charge's shoulder before he walked back to his car; he hated letting Bel walk the streets and always worried that something might happen to him, but he trusted the boy to be able to take care of himself if he needed to; he had slowly taught Bel self-defence over the years to try and get him moving around and help heal his injuries, and the kid wasn't bad at all when it came to packing to a punch or two. "Come on, Fran."

Fran nodded. He took one last look at his senpai before he walked back to the car and got into the front passenger seat. He looked to the long-haired man before he asked, "Is senpai okay?"

"He will be." Squalo started the car and soon pulled away from the kerb once it was clear. He couldn't stop himself from scolding the younger, though; it angered him to know that Fran had distressed Bel because _no one_ got away with upsetting his kid. "Next time he's in the car, don't lean over him like that. You'll scare him."

Fran nodded, having already learnt this. And part of him felt as if it were _his_ fault Bel was too scared to stay for the five minutes they had left in the drive.

 _ **~~XX~~**_

Having waited for Bel and Dino to meet them at the shopping centre, Fran and Squalo stopped at the pharmacy first and dropped in Bel's prescription for his medication. The shopping centre was huge, so while they had gone up several levels and then to the very back of the building, it had been enough time for the others to join them. Bel had calmed down from his walk and was mostly back to his usual bratty self, though he did seem slightly flighty; it was most obvious when there were loud, unexpected noises that caused him to flinch violently for several seconds.

After having done a bit of recreational shopping and then storing their purchases in the car, the group did the grocery shopping as their last task for the afternoon. Bel, true to his childish nature, wanted everything in sight. He only calmed down when Dino promised to buy him lunch afterwards if he stopped throwing everything he could get his hands on into the trolley; he liked how Dino was such a pushover compared to Squalo.

And then, when it came time to check out the groceries, Bel started up again.

"But, Squalo, I'm thirsty…!" Bel pouted as he pointed to the soft drink fridge across from them, having been told that he wasn't allowed to get a bottle of coke today.

"Bel, you're going to get lunch on the way home; you're not getting more soft drink to rot your teeth with, and your sugar highs are bad enough as it is with just a can of soft drink. You're not getting a bottle now when you're about to have one with lunch." After unloading the groceries onto the conveyer belt, Squalo lifted a hand to pinch the bridge of his nose; of course Bel was being difficult again. He had been so good lately…

Turning to Dino, Bel turned on his charm. "Dino, I'm thirsty~ Buy me a drink~?"

"Don't you fucking dare, Bucking Horse! I'm watching you!"

Dino rubbed the back of his neck as he chuckled nervously; he was torn between giving Bel what he wanted and following what Squalo wanted for the boy. He hated disappointing his boyfriend's charge, but he also knew that Squalo would kick his ass if he went against the long-haired man's view on raising his foster child. After careful consideration, he decided it wouldn't be worth having Squalo rip into him when they got home for disobeying, especially since Bel was going to get a drink with his lunch anyway. "Sorry, Bel, Squalo will yell at me if I do. Can you wait for lunch and I'll buy you a drink then?"

"Please~?" The boy wrapped his arms around Dino's middle and rubbed his cheek against the man's chest. "I want a drink now~"

Fran, who had been behaving himself well during their outing, rolled his eyes. "Senpai, why are you acting more childish than usual? Anyone would think you're brain damaged or something."

The oldest two froze at this, neither adult knowing what to say, while Bel's eyebrow twitched. Anger filled the smaller blond, anger he hadn't felt in a long time. He pulled away from Dino, and within seconds, he grabbed Fran by the front of the shirt and slammed him against the registers.

"Bel, calm down." Squalo did nothing to separate the two; Bel needed to vent, and Fran needed to learn that Bel wasn't always going to tolerate him – especially when things like this were said. "He doesn't know."

Bel curled his hand into a fist and punched the younger in the cheek as hard as he could. When he shouted, it was in a voice full of agony. "I'm not brain damaged; it's a head injury, you stupid frog!"

Fran's eyes widened imperceptibly as he realised what he had done; he hadn't had any idea that Bel had a head injury, and though he hadn't meant to upset the other, the blond had taken his words the wrong way – no _wonder_ Bel was so moody all the time if he was living with a head injury. "Senpai…"

Bel threw Fran onto the ground before he stormed out of the supermarket, caring nothing for the many sets of eyes on him. Squalo swore as he handed his credit card to Dino so that he could chase after the younger; he couldn't lose his charge now of all times, not when Bel wasn't thinking clearly and might get himself into trouble.

"Bel!" Once he had caught up, Squalo grabbed Bel's arm and stopped him from getting any further. When Bel looked up at him, it was with the most heartbroken expression he had ever seen the blond don. "Bel, Fran doesn't know you have a head injury. Don't hold it against him; he didn't mean any harm."

Shaking his head, Bel sniffed. Wrapping his arms around the man, he said, "No one else wanted to foster me because of my injuries… No one even wanted to _adopt_ me… They thought I was a cute little kid and then… when they realised… They all made up excuses so they weren't burdened by me…"

Knowing what Bel was scared about, Squalo shook his head; Bel just didn't want to be abandoned now that Fran knew more about him – there was a reason the blond never revealed too much of himself to anyone but Squalo and Mammon, after all. "Fran's opinion of you isn't going to change, no matter what injuries you've sustained, Bel. He _does_ want you. He isn't like the others. He won't abandon you. If he was going to do that, he would have done so long ago when he realised you're irregular when it comes to PMSing."

Bel rubbed at his eyes. He knew Squalo would never lie to him, and he wanted so badly to believe the man's words; he just didn't want to be alone. "Promise…?"

Squalo nodded. "Promise. Now come back and you can both apologise to each other."

Bel hesitated before he nodded and reached out to hold Squalo's hand. He followed the man back into the supermarket, finding that Dino was paying for their purchases now. He hid behind his guardian when they got closer to Fran, not wanting to see the bruise and split lip he had left his boyfriend with; he suddenly felt so guilty for marring his boyfriend's beautiful features, and he wasn't sure if he could forgive himself for it. "…"

"Senpai?" Fran moved to Bel's side and peered up at the older male. "Senpai, I didn't know."

"…" Bel looked to his feet and chewed at his lip for a few seconds before he stepped closer to the smaller male. He wrapped his arms tight around Fran and nuzzled his face in against the teal-haired male's neck, hoping Fran understood; he was trying to apologise in the only way he was comfortable with.

"It's okay, senpai." Fran rubbed at the boy's back. "I shouldn't have said that to you when I already knew you were in a car crash. I thought it was only your back and neck you still had problems with."

Shaking his head, Bel just held on tighter. "…"

"Guys, there's people behind us." Dino put his hand on Bel's shoulder. He hated to break the two youngest apart, but he also didn't want people staring at them like this; what went on between Bel and Fran was no one's business but their own. "Let's get going, okay?"

Bel looked up at Dino as he asked in a quiet tone, "Can you walk with me again…?"

"Bel, it's going to rain soon; it'll be better if we just drive home."

Bel sighed as he nodded, knowing Dino was just worried about his well-being. "Okay…"

The man patted golden locks affectionately as he smiled. "Great. Do you want the front seat?"

"Yeah…"

"Alright." Dino gave the boy a hug. "You can sit next to Squalo."

Bel returned the hug and nuzzled his face against the other's chest. "…"

"Come on, brat." Squalo was unusually quiet as he grabbed Bel's hand, tugging him along. "Let's get moving."

Bel was quiet as they left the shopping centre with his hand grasped firmly in his guardian's. He didn't say much on the drive home or even when they had stopped for lunch; he simply stared out of the window, flinching every now and then at the other vehicles on the road.

When they returned home, Bel didn't say a word as he retreated to his bedroom. He locked the door behind him and didn't let anyone else in for the rest of the day, only to emerge again late at night in order to sleep with Squalo and Dino again.

 **I'm currently in Sydney for a few days with my friend, so updates may either be fast or slow depending on how much time we spend in the city as neither of us are from here. Updates should be regular once again after the eighteenth/nineteenth when we go back to our own cities.**


	10. Chapter 10

"You look down today."

Bel looked up from the plate of sushi he had been contemplating over. He found an acquaintance of his standing behind him with a baseball bat strapped over his shoulder, hinting at the other having come from baseball practise. Caramel eyes looked down at him with a hint of understanding, and it was enough to calm Bel into opening up; this male had always had that effect on him, despite having not known him for long or feeling close at all to the other.

"Have you ever tried to love someone, but only seem to do it all wrong?" Bel put his chopsticks down on the counter next to his plate and cocked his head to the side.

The taller male took a seat next to Bel and hummed as he thought this question over; had he ever been in that situation before? "…Well… I don't think so. Did something happen?"

Bel shrugged. "It's just… I… I'm trying to show Fran how much I love him, and… And everyone says I'm not being a very good boyfriend…"

"You're dating your foster brother?" The teenager Bel knew as Takeshi didn't seem bothered at all by this information; simply curious. Bel knew there was no issue in telling the black haired male what had happened; Takeshi never judged anyone and always did his best to understand the people around him.

Bel nodded. "I tried to take him on a date, but he didn't like that because he said we weren't even boyfriends. Then we _did_ become boyfriends, but I don't feel like he appreciates me very much…"

"Why's that, Bel?" Willing to listen, Takeshi moved closer.

"He says he doesn't like my ideas for dates, and he never chooses anything for us to do anyway. And he never wants to have sex with me; I ask him and he always says he isn't in the mood, but what if he just doesn't want to have it with _me_? What if he… thinks I'm bad…? He made fun of me the first time we did it…" Bel had never felt so insecure, but he wanted nothing more than to be the best boyfriend he could be, yet he still wasn't sure what he was doing because though he tried so hard to follow everyone's advice, he only seemed to mess things up and confuse himself more.

"Well, what dates are you trying to take him on?"

"My first idea was to take him to a strip club, but he said no. So then I suggested maybe we could go to the cemetery at night and look for some ghosts. He said that was stupid and ghosts don't exist. Then I thought we could go to some abandoned places and he said I was boring and unimaginative…"

"Bel, those aren't exactly good ideas for dates." Takeshi was as kind as ever. He was patient, knowing that even though he and Bel weren't close, the blond was a very peculiar person and didn't understand how to socialise very well – the main reason his own group of friends had found it extremely difficult to teach Bel how to get along with them without fighting.

"What?" Bel frowned as he looked at Takeshi in confusion. "But they're so _fun…!_ "

"Yes, but not everyone likes those kinds of things. If you want to take Fran on a date he's going to enjoy, then you need to find something you _both_ enjoy doing. What do you and Fran have in common?"

"…" Now that he was thinking about it, Bel didn't know what his boyfriend did when he was alone; all he knew was that the younger liked being annoying, and seemed interested in playing games with Bel. Other than that… "I… don't know…"

"Then maybe you need to talk to Fran and find a compromise. Now, as for sex, do you ask him for it?" Takeshi continued on when he received a nod in response. "How often?"

"Every day."

"How many times a day?"

Suddenly feeling self-conscious, Bel fidgeted. "…I ask him when I wake up, and in the afternoon, and before he goes to bed… So… I ask him maybe five or six times every day…"

"I don't think he thinks you're bad; maybe he just doesn't like being asked all the time, and he doesn't have a drive as high as yours. Maybe you should let him ask _you_ for sex instead."

"…" Bel looked to his lap, not knowing how to respond; he had always thought he was being such a great boyfriend…

"You know, if you're feeling down, Tsuna and Gokudera will be coming over soon. We were going to play some videogames if you want to join us."

The boy shook his head and picked his chopsticks up again. "I can't; it's Lussu's birthday today and so I have to go back home soon. He wants everyone there to celebrate with him."

"That's alright," Takeshi promised. "Tsuna and Gokudera are staying the night here if you change your mind and want to come back."

Bel nodded. He fell silent as he slowly picked at his sushi, deep in thought; maybe he should try to find some quiet time alone with Fran and find out some more of his interests so that they could spend more time together and go on dates. He always felt upset whenever Fran made fun of him and didn't want to go on dates; he wanted so badly to be able to have a good relationship with the younger.

The blond didn't mind Takeshi sitting with him until the younger's friends arrived, and after farewelling the younger three, he finished up his afternoon tea and then completed the journey home.

Going to his room until he would be asked to come out and party with the others, Bel turned his computer on and finished editing a video. He wasn't exactly looking forward to tonight, having never been much of a party animal himself, but he liked spending time with the people he viewed as his family; they were all he had had for the past eight years, after all.

 _ **~~XX~~**_

When Bel had learnt there would be alcohol about, he had been a little happier to come out of his room and socialise. He had just grabbed a bottle for himself when Squalo caught him and snatched it from his hands before the blond could remove the cork; the man always had been strict in matters like this whenever it came to Bel.

"You're not drinking alcohol, Bel," Squalo growled. "You're sixteen, and you have medication."

"Yeah, but alcohol doesn't hurt my meds." Bel wasn't lying; he was able to drink in moderation before his medication started getting affected. "Please~? I really want to drink tonight~"

Squalo opened his mouth to argue, but he stopped and turned around with a growl when a bottle of wine was thrown past him and into Bel's hands. He knew exactly where it came from; there was only one person who would dare go against his wishes for his charges like this. Glaring at his dark-haired friend sprawled lazily by the window in the chair the other had long-since claimed as his own, Squalo yelled, "Voi! Xanxus, you fuck! Don't give my kids alcohol!"

"Shut it, trash." Drinking from his own bottle, the man named Xanxus narrowed red eyes. "He's old enough to drink, and you can't say no when you were out getting drunk every night when you were even younger than him."

Squalo sneered before he turned to Bel, trying not to take his anger out on his charge; it wasn't the blond's fault Xanxus was a terrible influence on people. "You can have _one_ bottle and that's it, brat."

"Three bottles."

"One-and-a-half."

"Two." Bel smiled when he saw the resignation on his guardian's face, knowing that he had won. Wrapping one arm around the man as he used the other to hold his alcohol close to him, he giggled. "Thanks, Squ~!"

"Whatever…" Squalo wasn't happy at all about letting the boy get his wishes; he didn't like the idea of Bel drinking when he was so young because he would never forgive himself if anything happened because of it. He didn't say anything else as he walked away and left his charge alone; he just went back to what he had been doing before he noticed the younger trying to sneak away with alcohol.

Bel grinned as he pulled the cork from the bottle and drank straight away. He didn't even get halfway through his first bottle before the alcohol started kicking in, and he found himself in a giggly mood.

"Fran~" The boy carried his bottle loosely with him as he approached his boyfriend sitting on the couch with a book. He dropped himself next to the younger and allowed the wine bottle to slip from his grasp as he wrapped his arms around Fran, nuzzling in against the teal-haired male; he felt the most overwhelming urge to cuddle right now, and he wanted to receive all of the affection his boyfriend had. "Fran… Belphegor loves him lots…"

"What?" Fran blinked. He had heard Bel's strange mannerisms of speaking before, but not like this; though he often spoke in third person when he referred to himself a prince every now and then for reasons the younger didn't know, he hadn't actually spoken like this before. "What are you on about?"

Smiling against Fran's neck, Bel pressed himself closer against his boyfriend. "Belphegor thinks… Belphegor thinks his boyfriend… should… should…"

Fran stayed still, not knowing how he was supposed to respond; was Bel drunk? "…"

"Fran should… tell Belphegor stuff…"

"Senpai, I don't understand." Fran remained emotionless as the other whined softly. "You're not making any sense."

"Belphegor… Belphegor always makes sense~" The boy smiled and licked at his boyfriend's neck. "He wants to know… stuff…"

Before Fran could reply, Squalo approached them once more. The man snatched the bottle laying at Bel's feet, and when he spoke, his tone was thick with disapproval. "No more alcohol, Bel! You're too much of a lightweight!"

"Nu-uh. Belphegor…" Hiccupping, Bel leant forward, rubbing at his eyes. "…"

Fran stood up, bringing Bel with him. "Senpai, you need to get some sleep. Let's go to bed."

At these words, the blond attached himself to Fran's side and rubbed his hips slightly against the younger's leg. "Fran will let Belphegor… fuck…?"

Fran shook his head and grabbed Bel's hand to lead him out of the living room. "We're going to sleep, senpai."

Bel giggled, allowing himself to be led towards Fran's bedroom. He was placid as he was soon laid down on the bed and tucked in tight; he loved the attention he was getting right now. It was when Fran lay next to him did he climb all over the younger, rubbing himself against every accessible inch of the teal-haired male. "Belphegor wants to fuck…"

"No, senpai; it's sleep time." Fran remained calm as he pushed Bel off him. He pulled the blankets back over his boyfriend before putting his hands on the blond's shoulder, keeping him down. "Close your eyes. It's okay. Relax; go to sleep."

"Belphegor loves Fran… Lots and lots…" Bel slowly calmed down from his excitement, eventually doing as told. He purred when small fingers ran through his golden locks, and his breathing evened out as he started drifting off.

"That's it, senpai. Go to sleep." Fran continued to whisper until he was certain Bel had fallen asleep. "You're doing well. Good boy, senpai. Good boy."

When soft snores sounded from Bel, Fran couldn't help but caress the other's pale cheek. He wasn't sure when it had started, but he couldn't help but feel a warmth in his chest he had never felt previously as he regarded Bel in this moment.

Was he… slowly beginning to return Bel's affections? Only time would tell.


	11. Chapter 11

To say that Bel wasn't a good boyfriend would be a lie. Sure, he was inexperienced and naïve, and he did things that made everyone around him roll their eyes and tell him off for, but he was truly such a sweet, affectionate boyfriend who was only trying to do the right thing by Fran.

Like now, as he kept Fran glued to him by means of hugging him tightly from behind on the blond's bed.

"Senpai, I don't like your friends." Looking at the younger trio his boyfriend had allowed inside the house, Fran almost frowned; he didn't like others hanging around Bel, especially when the blond was acting so casually with them. "Make them leave."

Bel kissed the younger's cheek before shaking his head with a placid smile on his face. He looked back to the newcomers, watching with careful eyes as they sorted through his collection of games; this was the first time he was allowing someone to borrow what was his, but he knew the younger ones would return the games; they were trustworthy like that.

"Belphegor-san, have you finished this yet?" The little brunet held up the newest item of Bel's collection, a PlayStation game that had just come out two days ago.

Bel couldn't help but huff at this question; what did they take him for? "Of course I have, peasant!"

The brunet squeaked as his face flushed from embarrassment; he should have known that would be the answer. He hesitated before continuing on, his timid nature shining through. "…May we borrow this one – o-only if you're already done with it! If y-you're still doing stuff on it, t-then –"

Bel tensed, biting his lip at this; this wasn't an easy situation for him, having to force himself to trust people he still wasn't very familiar with; he naturally distrusted people outside of his little family, so allowing people near his belongings, let alone taking them home, was taking a lot out of him. "…"

Fran could sense Bel's stress. He tilted his head back so that he could look up at the other's face. Raising his hand, he pressed his fingers against Bel's pale cheek. "Senpai?"

Bel relaxed at the touch. Letting out a breath he didn't realise he had been holding, he dropped his head so that he could kiss his boyfriend's lips. Once he was satisfied with the way Fran's lips moved slightly against his, he lifted his head once more to answer the brunet. "…Yeah… Just give them all back when you're done with them…"

The one Bel was closest to out of the trio, Takeshi, smiled as he took a seat at Bel's desk. "You know we won't keep them, Bel."

Bel hummed at this, distracting himself with threading his fingers through Fran's hair. He could feel his neck starting to hurt, only adding to his already-present headache and throbbing back. He dropped his chin on top of his boyfriend's head and sighed before he mumbled, "Takeshi, throw me those meds on top of the printer…"

Takeshi did as told and grabbed the packaging he could see. He looked to his friends and spoke in a gentle tone; he could see that Bel wasn't feeling the greatest. "Tsuna, can you get him some water?"

The brunet – Tsunayoshi, as Bel most referred to him as – nodded before leaving the room, with his silver-haired friend named Hayato following close behind him. They didn't take long at all to come back, and once the blond had the water and tablets in hand, everyone remained quiet as Bel took the painkillers and then laid down on the bed. He was tired, but he didn't feel like sleeping; as much as he would never admit it out loud, he kind of liked having visitors; they were such a rarity, they calmed the part of him that felt he didn't belong.

Seeing someone else taking care of Bel, let alone soothing him like this really irked Fran; he didn't like his boyfriend acting around others the same way the older male acted towards him; what if Bel one day decided to leave him for one or all of the trio? "Senpai, why do you like them so much? You aren't going to cheat on me, are you?"

"Shishi~" Bel shook his head and reached out to dance his fingers across Fran's thigh. "Of course not, Froggy. Although… Hayato-kun is pretty sexy; I wouldn't mind fucking him."

The silver-haired male paled at this, and disgust was thick in his voice when he responded. "Fuck off, you creep!"

"That's no way to speak to your host, Hayato-kun." With a playful tone in his voice now, Bel allowed a devious smile to cross his face; oh, how he loved getting reactions out of the younger. "Peasants should always bow down to royalty. If it helps any, I could jerk you off or someth – Ow! Froggy, don't hit me!"

"Senpai~!" In his usual monotonous tone, Fran somehow managed to convey his annoyance. "You're cheating on me~!"

"No, I'm –" Before Bel could finish his sentence, the occupants of the room all looked towards the door as it opened, revealing Squalo stepping into the room after coming home from work early. He held a troubled expression on his face, but Bel overlooked it; his guardian often came home from work bothered from being second in charge of such a stressful company. "Hey, Squ~"

Squalo had opened his mouth to say something, but he shut it when he noticed the other kids in the room. A flicker of happiness crossed his eyes for a few seconds, relieved that Bel was slowly making his first friends; the boy had always kept to himself, having begged to change schools and start fresh not long after coming home with Squalo. Having allowed his charge to change schools after clearing it with the agency in charge of the boy, Bel hadn't let anyone close to him, distancing himself from everyone around him in an attempt to protect himself from suffering more losses; he hadn't coped well with his family's deaths, and it was something he never wanted to go through again.

"Hey, kids." Addressing the younger group, Squalo was glad that these three were Bel's first friends, even if the blond wouldn't refer to them as such; they were a good group with sensible heads on their shoulders, and though Hayato could be as moody as Bel, at least Takeshi and Tsuna respected the blond's condition and treated him very well. "Staying for dinner?"

"If Belphegor-san doesn't mind us staying that long, we would like that." Tsuna was as shy as ever around Squalo; though the man had never directly done anything to make their visitors uncomfortable, the brunet found Squalo's loud nature intimidating. He instinctively moved closer to Hayato now that the man's attention was off him; he was such a timid little thing, but that was what Bel liked about him; Bel knew it meant there was little to no chance of the brunet harming him on purpose, and had instead only ever sensed compassion from the younger.

Bel remained placid. Truth be told, he would enjoy for the younger three to have dinner with them, but he wasn't sure how to express his hopes; he had never been in this situation before, and he found socialising to be rather daunting. Trying to remain nonchalant, he said, "The prince doesn't care for what the peasants do."

Squalo nodded. He looked back to Bel as he said, "Come into my room, brat; I need to talk to you about something."

Bel's lips turned to a frown at this; what would Squalo want to talk to him about that he wouldn't do it in front of the others? "…"

"Brat, come on. It's important."

Bel forced his smile back onto his face and raised his arms into the air; he was suddenly uncomfortable, sensing that they were going to have a talk he wouldn't like, but he didn't want to show his uneasiness; he hated when people could read him. "But I'm comfortable here. If Squ wants me to leave the bed, he'll have to carry me from it~"

"You've got legs; you can walk."

Bel pulled the blankets up to his chin at this as his smile widened playfully. "Nu-uh; I have no legs. My body was surgically removed and now I am just a floating head. You have to carry me everywhere, Squ~"

"You lazy little fuck." Squalo stomped into the room, giving in to his charge's wishes; it was too much of a hassle to make the boy walk when he would rather laze about. "You're going to get so fucking fat at this rate and then I won't be able to carry you anywhere."

"Nu-uh; princes don't get fat, Squ~"

Fran watched as Bel was scooped up with a playful giggle, the blond throwing his arms into the air with an excited 'Whee~!' like a kid on a ride at the amusement park as he was carried from the room. He couldn't help but feel embarrassed for the other's childish behaviour, but he had more important things to attend to; looking back at the younger three, he then said, "Don't hurt my senpai."

Takeshi was the one to reply to this, with his voice as soothing as ever. "We aren't going to hurt him, Fran; he's our friend."

Fran didn't reply to this; he instead waited for Bel to come back while the trio conversed amongst themselves. The seconds turned to minutes, and the minutes to almost an hour before Bel walked back into his room, looking more dazed than Fran had ever seen him before.

"Senpai?" Fran got off the bed to go to Bel's side and grab the larger hand in his, concerned by the way it shook in his hold; what had Squalo said to him to make Bel like this? "Senpai, what happened? Are you okay?"

Bel's mouth opened and closed for a few seconds before he finally spoke in a trembling voice. "Squ said… that… someone… wants to adopt me…"

With that, the tears Bel had been fighting back finally broke free with more force than he was able to restrain. Dropping to his knees, he cried his heart out, but even _he_ didn't know if they were tears of joy or tears of despair. Could they be a mixture? Part of him had always wanted to be adopted to show him that he was wanted and people were willing to look past his special needs, but at the same time, he didn't want to leave his home; _this_ was his family, and he knew he would never be able to feel as happy and content as he did here somewhere else.

"It's okay. It's okay."

Moving towards the soothing voices and touches he was receiving, Bel felt someone wrap their arms around him and hold him tight. Why was someone being so selfish and wanting to take him away from this…?


	12. Chapter 12

When Bel's nap was interrupted the next afternoon, the boy couldn't say he was happy; he had gone home from school sick, and he knew Squalo was going to yell at him for skipping school. After pushing himself into a sitting position, he rubbed at his eyes with a yawn and listened to the man telling him off.

"But Squ, I feel really sick…" Bel groaned as he pointed to the bucket beside the bed. "I fell asleep in class and then I woke up and vomited in front of everyone…"

Squalo's gaze softened, knowing when his charge was lying; now wasn't the case. "You need more sleep at night, brat; staying up so late all the time isn't helping you. Next time you leave sick, tell the school so they ring me. Have you had a shower?"

Bel nodded, picking at his warm pyjamas. "…"

"Alright. Come out into the living room; there's someone who wants to meet you." Squalo backed out of the bedroom and closed the door so that he could go back to his guest.

Bel frowned at these words, knowing who it was; it was the person who wanted to take him away from the only thing he knew. He had to force himself out of bed due to lack of motivation, but when he had finally gotten out of it, he pulled his favourite blanket off, too. He wrapped the material around his thin body before he slowly made his way out into the living room, not liking the unfamiliar voice he could hear; why couldn't they just go adopt some other kid in foster care? Bel was happy where he was, and he didn't want to leave for anyone.

Finally making it into the living room, Bel was glad to see that the stranger was seated on one of the chairs, leaving the other cushion on the couch free for him to sit next to Squalo. He looked at the newcomer, and he could see that it was a woman with long, curly blond hair and lots of makeup. She was quite pretty, Bel had to admit, and she was dressed in very formal clothing, giving him the impression that she must be quite well off – at least, if she wanted to go through with this, he wouldn't be going to someone too poor to look after him properly...

"Bel, this is Fumie." Squalo patted Bel's head as he introduced the two, fighting back his emotions; he had always known this day would come, but never once had he looked forward to it; from the very moment he met Bel in that hospital, he had always thought of the boy as his own kid. "Fumie, this is Belphegor."

"Hello, sweetheart." Bel had always been a very observant boy, and he could detect hidden emotions that betrayed what he was shown; he couldn't sense any malice or dishonesty from this woman's attitude so far, so…

Did that mean… This woman really _did_ want him…?

"…" Bel ducked his head. He raised his hand so that he could grab the chain he wore around his neck every day, having always found it to be his comfort item. He rubbed it a few times as thoughts ran through his mind, but he quickly looked back up when Fumie spoke again.

"That's a very lovely golden chain you're wearing." Fumie's voice was gentle, and she was getting to her feet in order to approach the boy. "Was it a gift?"

Bel bit his lip and looked at Squalo for reassurance; he didn't know how he was supposed to respond to this question. He drew in a breath when his guardian nodded at him, encasing the ring the chain was holding with his hand. "…Squalo bought it for me… My old chain broke…"

"May I look at it?"

Hesitant to unclip the chain and hand it over, Bel had never watched someone as carefully as he did in this moment; if the woman did anything to damage it…

"This is a very expensive chain, and the ring on it is stunning." Fumie smiled at Bel as she handed them back. "The ring must have cost an absolute fortune."

"It belonged to my mother…" Bel closed his eyes for a few seconds as unwanted memories ran through his head. "Someone at the hospital gave it to me; they said my mother had been wearing it, and they thought I might want to keep it… The chain was broken, so..."

"You must have loved her." Fumie's voice was softer than it had been during her visit.

Bel shrugged. "Don't know… I can't remember my family… I don't… remember anything before the crash… It's all… black… My life back then… is a mystery… It's all gone… Everything's gone…"

Squalo wrapped an arm around Bel and hugged the boy close. It was rare for Bel to talk about this, instead preferring to keep it inside. Squalo knew that wasn't healthy, but he would never force the younger to talk about the devastation he had experienced at such a young age; he couldn't begin to fathom the pain Bel had fought through, and he wasn't sure he _wanted_ to understand; what Bel had lost was more than just his family; he had lost himself, as well. "You can cry, brat. It's okay."

Bel shook his head before he reached up to wipe at his wet eyes. He hated crying, especially in front of other people, so he would do his best to hold it in. "…"

Squalo ruffled golden locks at this, allowing his demeanour to soften; there wasn't much that brought Bel down, but knowing that he would probably never know who he had been or what life he had led before the accident, especially knowing he would never get his family back, no matter what…

It was just cruel.

When Squalo heard the front door open, he looked over the back of the couch. He frowned as Dino strode towards them with a big smile on his face; he didn't like people knowing of his orientation, not wanting to chance his position as a foster carer being compromised – and _this_ fucking idiot would be the one who slipped up and gave everything away.

"Hey, Squalo; got a visitor?" Dino leant over the back of the couch and wrapped his arms around Squalo before kissing the younger's cheek. He yelped as he fell onto the ground after being shoved away by his boyfriend, having not noticed the woman standing near the couch; he hadn't thought to look around for whoever the car out the front belonged to; he was just excited to see Squalo again.

"Voi, you fucking idiot!" Squalo was upset by his boyfriend's actions, and he couldn't help but blush scarlet; he didn't care if anyone judged him for being gay or not, but he'd be damned if someone took _his_ kids from him because of the way he was born. "If you knew there was a strange car here, don't walk in like that, you dumbass!"

"So mean, Squalo." The blond moved to sit on the couch next to Bel before he finally looked up at the woman, finding her smiling at them. As friendly as always, he extended his hand to shake the smaller one happily; it was incredibly rare for him to not get along with someone. "I'm Dino; I'm Squalo's partner."

"I was certain Squalo was single; that's what the caseworker told me." Fumie showed not even a hint of judging; it was almost as if she were completely fine with the whole situation.

"Ah, he just says he's single and kicked me out of the house to act like it because he's worried of repercussions. I always tell him it's fine and there's no need to hide it, but he's paranoid like that – Oww! Don't hit me, Squalo!"

Fumie laughed and returned to her own seat. "It's okay; I don't mind if you're together; I don't judge like that."

Dino smiled brightly at this while Squalo scowled at his lap, still flustered from earlier. The stronger blond noticed Bel had been very quiet, and upon closer inspection, Dino could see a few tears rolling down the boy's cheeks.

"Hey, Bel, feeling okay?" Dino wiped the tears away before he wrapped his arms around Bel and hugged him tight. Trying to cheer the youngest up, he said, "I saw a really cute girl while I was on lunch; I was telling her about you and she seemed really interested in you. Should I introduce you two?"

Bel shook his head and leant into Dino's hold. "I'm with Froggy…"

"I know you are, but it wouldn't hurt to make another friend." Patting Bel's shoulder, Dino hummed softly. "Wouldn't you like to make a female friend? Hmm?"

Bel opened his mouth to respond, but his eyes instead widened as he tried to get to his feet in a rush, only to trip over the blanket he was tangled within. Falling to the ground, he was powerless to stop himself from vomiting all over the carpet as his head spun from the nausea. He shuddered as he felt Dino's hand on his back, too weak to push the man away as his fellow blond scooped him up into strong arms and stood once more.

"Let's get you back in bed, Bel." Dino made sure that Bel wasn't about to throw up again before he left the room. "Do you want me to get you a chocolate milk carton from the fridge?"

Bel shook his head as he groaned loudly; he often got sick, but it didn't mean he was used to it; he hated feeling so ill. "When's Froggy coming home…?"

"Soon, Bel." The man turned to farewell Fumie before he left the living room to take Bel back to his bedroom and tuck him into bed. He turned the oil heater on for the boy and didn't leave until he was sure the boy was okay; Bel really _did_ look very sick, and he hoped it was nothing serious.

When the older blond returned to the living room, he sat next to Squalo and listened as the long haired man discussed things with Fumie. He didn't like to know that someone wanted to adopt Bel – he was happy and all for the boy, he really was! – because he had become so fond of the smaller blond over the years, and it just wouldn't be the same with Bel gone.

Somehow, Dino had a feeling that someone really _did_ want Bel this time, and it would only be a matter of weeks until everything was organised and he would be saying goodbye to the little boy he had helped his partner raise.

 _ **~~XX~~**_

Late that evening, Bel tiptoed to Squalo's bedroom with his blanket wrapped tight around him. He was still feeling very unwell, and he wanted to lay quietly with Squalo since Fran was staying the night at his tutor's home; he had always slept with his guardian when he didn't feel right, and he wasn't prepared to break that habit any time soon, not even when he was almost seventeen.

Bel was just about to push the door open, but he stopped as he realised Dino and Squalo were in the middle of a serious, almost heated discussion. It was rare for the two to fight, but when they did, it was usually over something serious that would result in them not talking to each other until Dino finally swallowed his pride and apologised for the things he said because he knew Squalo would never be the one to apologise first. Standing still so that he could listen, Bel frowned at what he was hearing.

"I know you don't want to let him go, Squalo, but you really have no choice in this; Bel is in the state's custody; not yours." Dino seemed tired, as if he was trying too hard to make Squalo understand something. "If you really wanted to keep him with you, you could have adopted him yourself. You knew when you agreed to foster him that there was always a chance of someone else taking him."

"I fucking know!" There was a bit of pacing before Squalo growled, speaking again. "I just… I'm not his parent… I don't want him to think I'm trying to replace the ones he lost… He misses them…"

"Bel knows you would never try and take their place." As always, Dino was level headed. "He might have acted out if you tried to adopt him, but I don't think his feelings towards you would change; he loves you more than anything. You're all he can remember having."

"I just want him to be happy…"

"He _is_ happy, Squalo. He loves what he has, and he appreciates everything you've done for him. He doesn't ask for more than what you give him."

"…"

"…"

"…What if he'd be happier with adoptive parents…? You remember when he was little, and he'd always ask when someone was finally going to adopt him…? He'd get so excited when people came to see him, and he'd think he was really going to go home with them… Then everyone would bail on him because they didn't want a kid who was going to grow up and need constant medical assistance…"

Feeling the pain in his chest Bel hadn't felt in years, the boy raised a hand to hold over his heart; he remembered all too well the crushing disappointment when Squalo would tell him that he would be staying with his foster parent for a while longer because he was no longer wanted. He hadn't thought about adoption for years now, having long-since given up on hoping someone would come and give him a forever home and instead feeling secure in what Squalo gave him. But to suddenly think about being adopted again… It _hurt_. "…"

"Squalo, he's not eight-years-old anymore. He's almost seventeen. He's not a frightened, lonely little boy anymore. He's not going to be happier with someone else; you're his best friend, and he really looks up to you. The best thing you could have done for him was to adopt him yourself. It might have upset him a little at first, but he'd get used to it. He doesn't want to be somewhere else; he just wants to stay here with you. I thought you of all people would know this; you know him best, after all."

Bel couldn't listen to any more; he opened the door and stepped in, pretending he hadn't overheard their conversation. He coughed as he made his way over to the bed and climbed onto it so that he could curl up next to Dino. He purred softly as he felt a warm hand caress his arm, glad to feel the blankets being lifted over him; Dino always knew exactly what he wanted.

"Sleeping in here tonight, brat?" Squalo was standing by the desk in his room with a cigarette in hand as he leant next to the open window. He didn't hesitate to put it out and then toss it into the garden bed outside, not wanting to expose his charge to it; he rarely smoked inside the house, not unless he was stressed, but always confined it to his room with the window open to try and keep the smoke from spreading to the kids' rooms; while Fran simply didn't like cigarettes, Bel had asthma, and smoke did no favours for it.

"Can I…?" Bel stifled a yawn and then leant into the fingers that were gently tucking some of his golden locks behind his ear, relaxing into the touch; Dino had always been so gentle with him, and his hands had never once hurt him, not even by accident. In fact, that was the way with most of Squalo's friends; all but one of them were so gentle with him, he had never once felt threatened by their presences. Xanxus was rough and aggressive, and he had a tendency of throwing things at the boy, but he had never actually laid a hand on the blond before; in fact, Bel got along better with him than most people, often enjoying sitting in the man's room with Xanxus and talking about girls, since the only other person in the household who shared in their interest of females was Dino.

"Of course, brat." Squalo put his cigarette out before he tossed it into the garden bed below and then closed the window. He then pulled the curtains back over it before moving to the entertainment system on the other side of the room so that he could turn the TV on and throw the remote to the bed. "What movie do you want to watch?"

Humming as he thought the question over, Bel then made up his mind. "A good horror. Nothing shit."

Squalo nodded, sorting through his collection of DVDs to find something to keep Bel entertained until he fell asleep. It would usually take a while for the blond to doze off, but since he was ill, it mightn't take him too long to fall asleep tonight.

Squalo just hoped that by morning, Bel would be feeling better about a lot of things.


	13. Chapter 13

Bel knew he was being adopted, and that there was nothing he could do to stop it. He had sat through Fumie's visits to him at Squalo's home, and he had gone to her own home several times for little stays – hell, he had even been out to lunch and gone shopping with her many times, but the reality had never sunk in completely until he was lying on a mattress that felt nothing like his custom-made one back at Squalo's.

It wasn't that Bel didn't like Fumie; she was very kind to him, and had never given him reason to doubt her sincerity towards him before, but he didn't feel comfortable being here, away from the only thing he knew; he remembered nothing before his accident, and as far as he was concerned, he had been with Squalo his whole life.

Looking over at his desk resting on the other side of the room, Bel let out a sigh; he still had to set his computer back up, but he couldn't seem to find the energy; his mind was reeling over the past few days, wanting to believe it was just a nightmare he would soon wake up from, but he knew that wasn't the case; things were going to be so very different now.

Bel lifted his head from the pillow as a knock sounded at his door, and he frowned before responding; he really wasn't in the mood for socialising and just wanted to be left alone, but Squalo had raised him better than to be rude to his host – especially the person who had just adopted him out of good intentions. "Yeah?"

Fumie stepped into the room with a warm smile on her face. She knew to give the boy his space as he was still trying to adjust to things as they were, but she couldn't say it didn't upset her when her new charge was spending all his time hidden away in his room. "Sweetheart, dinner is on the table for when you're ready."

Bel nodded. He dropped his head back to his pillow and rolled onto his side to look at her properly. He reached out to thread his fingers through the silky fur of his pet mink as he said, "I'll be out soon. My back is sore."

Fumie stepped further into the room at this and moved to sit on the bed next to Bel. Reaching out, she put her hand on the boy's side and regarded him with soft eyes. "Would you like a back massage?"

Bel tensed at the woman's touch before he shook his head; he was extremely uncomfortable having someone he still didn't know very well touching him. "I don't like to be touched by people I'm not familiar with…"

"That's alright, sweetheart." Fumie's smile never faltered as she pulled her hand back to herself. "Can I do anything to make you feel better?"

Feeling frustrated at his own body for always putting him through so much pain that came and went on its own, Bel bit his lip. He spoke in an agitated tone as he pulled his blankets up further around his body. "Can't… Can only take my meds for it, and I've already had them…"

"Sweetheart…" Fumie threaded her fingers through Bel's golden locks as she tried to make him more comfortable. She looked around at his mess of a room that was still littered with un-opened boxes and said, "Would you like any help unpacking?"

Bel wouldn't mind a hand; the sooner he got everything ready, the quicker he could either go back to sleep or distract himself with his games. "Yeah…"

"Alright, honey. Want to do it after you've eaten something?"

"Yeah…" Bel pushed himself into a sitting position and then rubbed at his neck before standing up. "What's for dinner?"

"Miso ramen with a side of takoyaki and gyoza."

"You didn't put mayonnaise on the takoyaki, did you?" His eyes widened slightly in worry as Bel felt his stomach churn at the thought. "Mayonnaise makes me sick."

"No, sweetheart; there's no sauce on it for you." Fumie was glad to see that Bel was now leaving his room with her, and she hoped that the boy would settle in soon; she understood that it might take him a long time to adjust and feel comfortable with her, but she couldn't help but wish it wouldn't take so long; she was very much looking forward to spending time with him.

Bel was silent until he sat down at the table, tense as he waited for her to bring his meal over to him. He was nervous, not used to this kind of dining; it was rare to only ever have one person home at a time with him, so he was used to lots of chatter over meals.

"Here you go, darling." Putting a big bowl down in front of Bel before returning with two smaller plates, Fumie smiled. "I hope you enjoy it."

Bel picked up his chopsticks from the side of the bowl and grabbed a piece of takoyaki first. He chewed slowly as he tried to focus on the food rather than the pain in his body, but his attention soon drifted away from both of them when Fumie spoke to him again.

"I think now is a good time to discuss school." The woman didn't hold any hint of ill intentions, but it still worried Bel greatly; while he hated school and didn't have any friends there, he wasn't sure how he would feel if he were told he was going to have to change schools or drop out or anything to that extent – but to his relief, the topic didn't seem to be going any way he had been dreading. "You don't like cars, do you?"

The boy shook his head as he plucked up another piece of takoyaki to chew on as he listened. "…"

"I want to do what makes _you_ feel comfortable, honey. Would you like for me to organise the bus to and from school?"

Bel almost choked on his food at the suggestion and rapidly shook his head; he couldn't remember ever being on a bus before, but he knew he wouldn't like them; it was just too hard for him to get into some sort of vehicle with someone he didn't know well – hell, he had struggled trusting Fumie to drive him around the two times he had gotten in a car with her, and that was only because he hadn't had a choice.

"I understand how afraid you are of traveling, but it's just too far for you to walk, and it's not safe; we don't live in town, after all. It's a twenty minute drive into town alone; I can't fathom making you walk to school, honey."

Bel flinched, not wanting to hear what was to come next; what if Fumie wouldn't listen to him and decided something that was only going to scare him? "…"

"It also doesn't help when your school is all the way on the other side of town, either." Humming thoughtfully, Fumie tried her best to problem solve, but she knew she had to do something that would work for Bel, too; it would be cruel of her to continuously make him suffer through his trauma. "The only things I can think of are that you can either continue going to your school and taking the bus to and from home, or you can enrol into a school closer to here and I'll organise time off work to take you to and from school."

Bel didn't even have to _think_ about the former option; there was no _way_ he was _ever_ stepping foot in a bus, and truthfully he cared nothing for leaving behind his current school; he didn't like the other students, nor the teachers, and with the bullying he often received, it was a no-brainer that he had often considered transferring to a different school. But what other school would he go to? He was almost finished his last year of middle school, and his seventeenth birthday was coming up quickly, so would it really make sense for him to transfer so late in the year?

But if it would save him getting on a bus…

"Can I go to Namimori Middle?" Unaware of how quiet his voice was, Bel looked down at his lap. "…I know some of the students, and Dino teaches there… Dino could even bring me home after school…"

Fumie was more than happy to agree, only wanting what was best for Bel. "Of course you can, Bel. How about tomorrow morning we'll go and enrol you? We'll get all your stuff from school, too."

Bel nodded. He stirred his chopsticks through his ramen absentmindedly. He wasn't feeling very talkative at all, in pain and distressed; he missed the familiarity of Squalo's house, the comfort he felt around the people he lived with, and most of all, he missed feeling as if he could talk about whatever was on his mind to those people and trust them to help him when he needed it. "…"

Fumie glanced at her watch before she looked to the glass doors that led out to the back porch. She said, "My husband should be home any minute now. It's dinnertime, so he'll come inside from the back doors tonight."

Having not heard much about Fumie's husband, Bel cocked his head to the side; now that he was thinking about it, he had never met the man before. "Where is he?"

"He had another delivery out of town. He spends a lot of time away, so you probably won't get to know him very much."

Bel nodded. He went to eat a slice of gyoza, but he couldn't help but drop his chopsticks to into the bowl as he hissed and hunched over, holding his elbow tight. Tears welled up in his eyes as the burning sensation spread all through his arm while his fingers became stiff and just as painful. He didn't notice the hand on his shoulder, the nerves in his right side too damaged to always feel the sensation of touch.

"Bel, honey?" Fumie wished there was something she could do to help, but part of her wondered if Bel was crying not only because of the pain, but because of the stress and anxiety he was feeling, too. It was understandable; Bel had been taken out of the only home he could remember and placed into one he hadn't wanted in the first place. She felt bad for separating Bel, but she had only wanted to adopt him and give him a good, happy life. "Sweetheart, what's happened?"

It wasn't exactly the pain that had brought Bel to tears – sure, it was very painful and could even become crippling on his worst days, but he could handle it; he could handle most varieties of pain. No; what had made Bel cry was the frustration he constantly felt at having to live like this, to suffer through injuries that had long-since healed but would forever leave him in pain. Bel knew he couldn't blame that truck driver; it had been mechanical failure and negligence hadn't played a part in the crash, but still…

Sometimes Bel _hated_ the man who sincerely hadn't meant for _any_ of that to happen.

"Sweetheart…" Fumie had no idea how she could help, having already been told by Squalo that there wasn't much that could be done for Bel's pain except make sure he was taking his medication regularly and exercising and taking breaks from his computer. She knew Bel had been doing what he needed, so what else could she do? "Sweetheart, go and lay back down, okay?"

Bel couldn't reply; he couldn't _move_. He could only sit at the table, clutching his arm tight against his chest as he trembled from the pain, his breathing unsteady as tears continued to roll down his cheeks. Sometimes, despite how much Bel loved his life, he found himself wishing that he, too, had been killed in the accident; no matter how brave he tried to be when it came to his injuries, he couldn't help but wonder when the agony would no longer be bearable.

When it would get to that stage, Bel was afraid to think about what he would resort to doing; the ninth anniversary of the accident would be on his seventeenth birthday, and for the past eight years, the pain had only gotten steadily worse.

Bel was terrified to think about what it would be like in ten years' time.

 _ **~~XX~~**_

It had taken a long time for the pain to start to recede, and only then did Bel pick up his phone from the nightstand and dial Squalo's number. It didn't take long for the long-haired man to answer the call, his voice soft for once; Bel wasn't the only one having a hard time adjusting. "What is it, brat?"

"Squ-Squ…" Raising his hand to scratch Mink behind the ears when the animal jumped up onto his stomach, Bel sighed. "Squ-Squ, my arm was really hurting before…"

"Did you take your meds this morning?"

Bel nodded, despite knowing that no one could see him. "Yes… But it still really hurts… Squ-Squ…?"

"What?" There was the sound of shuffling in the background before Squalo grunted at something and a loud bang sounded a second later.

Bel sighed before he asked what was bothering him. "Squ-Squ… Did the doctors lie to me again…?"

"What do you mean, brat?" Squalo muttered to someone else beside him before he turned his attention back to Bel.

"…" Bel sniffed as he fought back the tears that threatened to fall down his cheeks. "…Everyone said the pain would go away if I did all the treatments… So I had surgery and I do physiotherapy and I even take medication… But… But nothing's working, and it only gets worse… Why do they always lie to me…?"

"I don't know, Bel…" Speaking barely above a whisper at this, Squalo wished he was there to hug the boy. "I don't know…"

"I hate them…" Bel wiped at his eyes and glared at nothing in particular. "They always lie to me…"

"They don't mean to, Bel; they just lump you in with the majority of statistics and say you'll be one of the ninety-percent who recovers. It's bullshit, I know. But they mean no harm."

"What will I do when it gets worse?" The boy's eyes widened with stress as he lifted a hand to pull at his hair. "It… It hurts so much…"

"I know it does, brat. But there's nothing I can do for – shit! I'll call you back, Bel; this fucking idiot's jammed his hand in your bed frame somehow."

Bel didn't need to question who the 'fucking idiot' was; he knew immediately that it was Dino as no one else in the household was stupid enough to jam their hands while disassembling a bed frame. "Okay, Squ. I love you."

"I love you, too, brat." With that said, the line went dead.

Bel tossed his phone onto the bed next to him and sighed; what should he do now? He had grown so accustomed to sharing his bed with Fran, he felt uncomfortable sleeping on a mattress that was too hard for his back; he missed the younger male's warmth and the security Fran would emit.

The boy leant over his bed to grab the laptop he had slipped beneath it earlier. He pulled it up from the floor and opened the lid to bring it out of hibernation mode; he figured maybe talking to Fran for a little while would help calm him down before bed.

After logging into his Facebook account, Bel typed his message and hit enter. He waited impatiently for a response, but it didn't seem that the younger was online tonight as Fran never replied back; now that he was thinking about it, Fran was probably asleep by now as he had never been one for staying up late.

Sighing, Bel closed the lid to his laptop and slid it back beneath the bed, hoping tomorrow would be a better day; maybe it he could just learn to adjust to the changes, and then… Then maybe it wouldn't be so bad here.

But who was Bel kidding? He would never be as happy here as he was with Squalo.


	14. Chapter 14

To say that Bel was glad to have changed schools so quickly was an understatement; he had never felt as lonely as he did now, not even after when he had just lost his family and the first eight years of his life. He would have loved to have transferred to Fran's school so they could spend more time together, but the younger's school was too far out of the way and he would most definitely have had no other choice but to take several buses if he wanted to get there and back - but even if he couldn't join Fran in school, at least Bel was still able to see Dino and the younger trio who always seemed to find ways to get him to join them in social activities.

"Dino…" Having finally found his once-guardian's office, Bel stepped into the room with a glum look on his face. He didn't hesitate to approach the older blond, despite the other seemingly busy with writing reports on his laptop. "Dino, I'm… really lonely…"

Dino looked up from his laptop and smiled sadly; he was glad to have heard Bel would be coming to join him at school, but he was still disappointed he wouldn't have the younger in his classes; he was just as fond of the boy as Squalo was, having treated Bel as his and Squalo's very own child together. "I'm sure you would be; it's a huge change, isn't it?"

Bel nodded. "Fumie's nice, but… It isn't the same…"

"Of course not, Bel. And it's not helping that you're feeling so down because… Well…" Rubbing the back of his neck, Dino's eyes darted to the side; did he want to continue on and upset Bel further…?

"It's okay… You can say it…" Bel dropped his head and frowned. He felt tears pricking at his eyes, but he was able to contain them; it was just another year passing by, after all…

"…Because it's almost the anniversary of your accident…"

Bel shrugged and looked away. "It was a long time ago… I should have gotten over by it now… I can't miss… people I don't know…"

"Don't tell yourself that, Bel; it's different because that was your family. You can miss them as much as you want, even if you can't remember them."

Bel sighed as he looked back at Dino. He changed the subject, not wanting to continue; the last thing he needed was to depress himself on his first day here. "Where do those little brats usually hang out at school?"

"They go straight to their homeroom before school." Knowing what Bel wanted, Dino smiled. "Want to go see them?"

Bel shrugged again as he stood up, not wanting Dino to see how much he wanted to say yes; he wanted to be nonchalant about it because he was honestly a little embarrassed to admit that he actually had friends. "What about at breaks? Where do they go then?"

Dino also got to his feet so that he could lead Bel from the office. "They do spend a bit of time up on the roof, but they move around sometimes. They'll let you know where to meet them after classes."

Bel nodded. He didn't say another word until a few minutes later when they had stepped into a classroom. There was hushed chatter around the room as the students found themselves confused by Dino's early arrival, and the unfamiliar student by his side.

"You." Pointing out the three kids who often tended to find themselves in his bedroom, Bel approached them as he tried his hardest to think about anything but the crippling loneliness he was feeling. "Entertain me."

The younger three looked confused by Bel's presence; they certainly hadn't expected for the blond to show up in their classroom, after all.

Tsuna was the first one to speak. "Belphegor? What are you doing here?"

Bel leant back against Hayato's desk and crossed his arms against his chest. He felt uncomfortable telling them what had happened, but he wasn't one for lying – not about serious things like this. "…I… don't live with Squ anymore…"

Tsuna frowned at this, and while Hayato tried not to show any emotion, Takeshi's caramel eyes melted as he asked, "You were adopted?"

Bel nodded. "Had to change schools… Fran's school was too far away so I came here instead."

None of the younger three knew what to say about this, but they didn't have to speak; someone else from the class did it for them.

"Hey, you're the Ripper Prince, aren't you?"

Bel turned around as he heard the name of his YouTube channel and came face-to-face with a younger raven-haired teen, the other looking extremely excited at the sight of Bel. "Yes…?"

"Oh, my god! Really?!" The smaller teen clapped his hands at this and the smile on his face brightened. "That's so cool! I didn't know you went to our school!"

Bel was very uncomfortable with the other so close to him, and he panicked and pushed himself backwards as the stranger grabbed his hand to shake it zealously. He was tense, his breathing unsteady; he wasn't used to people acting like this around him, and it made him anxious. "…"

Tsuna got in between the two, knowing how his friend liked his own space. "Ah, Kazota-san, please leave Belphegor be; he wants to –"

"-No way; you know No-Good Tsuna?" The teen – Kazota, Bel had worked out – frowned at the little brunet with a look of disapproval in his eyes. "Why would you want to be friends with a wimp like him?"

"You bastard!" Hayato had stood up like this, getting into Kazota's face. Bel watched as Takeshi joined the fray in an attempt to calm everyone down, and Dino simply watched with a puzzled expression from the front of the room; he certainly hadn't expected for something like this to happen when he had brought Bel here.

"You make YouTube videos?"

Bel gulped as he heard another unfamiliar voice from behind him, this time a female's. He had never really interacted with girls before, having only ever been around Mammon and not caring enough for the students at his old school to attempt to get to know anyone; he had never noticed until now that he was quite shy around the opposite gender. "…"

Dino, who had come over to the others by now, wrapped his arm around Bel's shoulders as he smiled at his student, noticing that a crowd was soon forming around them. Bel, despite being praised as a genius, couldn't work out for the life of him why this was; no one else at his old school had ever taken interest in him, so why was it different here? Was it because he hadn't been recognised as a YouTuber until now?

"Yes, he does." Dino tugged Bel closer to him, happy to see so much attention around Bel for once; the boy had always been distant from most people around him, locked away in his room with only his videogames for company. It wasn't any way for the younger to live, but if Squalo had allowed it, then he would never voice his opinions; Bel was Squalo's foster child, after all. "He makes game ones."

"Oh, what kind of gaming videos?" Another female had approached Bel at this. She had long black hair held up in a bun as she batted her eyes at the newcomer in a flirtatious manner. Bel's cheeks turned scarlet as his eyes wandered down to her breasts, and his pants quickly became too tight for him. He made a strangled noise before he turned away and hid behind Dino as he felt his face burn up from his apparent shyness.

Dino couldn't help but laugh at this; Bel was so adorable when he embraced his inner child. "I've never seen you like this before, Bel. I honestly never thought you'd be so shy. Everyone, please try and give him a bit of space; he's not used to so much attention."

"Do you know him, sensei?"

Dino nodded at the question. He was glad that all attention had fixed on him now; it would give Bel a break and allow him to try and relax. "Yes; my partner was fostering him for years; he was only recently adopted."

Bel thumped his fist against Dino's chest. His face was still red as he mumbled, "Don't tell them that!" The boy tried to block out the conversation going on around him, but he stopped when he felt Tsuna tug at his sleeve. "…"

"Want to come into town with us after school?" The brunet was as shy as ever, but he seemed a little more comfortable around Bel today; he mustn't be feeling so out of place as he did whenever he was at Bel's home. "We were going to stay at Yamamoto's for a bit."

Bel opened his mouth to respond, but then he remembered; he would need to ask Fumie before he went anywhere since otherwise he may not be able to get home at night. "…I… need to ask Fumie…"

Tsuna nodded in understanding. He stepped back to make Bel feel more at ease. "That's okay. We'll be on the roof for lunch today. Come and meet us at our classroom and you can follow us."

Bel nodded. He tried to ignore the attention that was still fixed on him and swallowed thickly before getting Dino's notice, asking, "How are Fran and Squ?"

"Squalo's good. He really misses you, though." Dino threaded his fingers through Bel's hair. "We've almost finished disassembling the last of your stuff and we'll have it out to you soon. Fran misses you more than he'll let on, too; he's been spending more time with Mukuro now since he doesn't have you to annoy."

Bel sighed before a brilliant idea struck his mind; if Fumie would let him go out with the younger three today, then maybe he could ask them if Fran could come, and maybe if he could, then Fran could even come back to Fumie's with him for the night. "If I go to Takeshi's, can I ask Fran to come with and maybe bring him home with me?"

"Of course you can." Dino frowned as he glanced down at his wristwatch. "You'd better head to your classroom, Bel; classes will start soon."

Bel pouted, but he knew he had to leave, no matter how much he wanted to stay here. Wrapping his arms around Dino's middle, he then leant up on his tiptoes to kiss his once-guardian's cheek in farewell. He turned around to leave, but he quickly stopped with a gasp and tensed badly when someone grabbed his arm. He held himself tight as he turned around to see who had startled him.

"Want to spend breaks with us?" It was the same girl with the nice chest who had really grabbed Bel's attention, and if he were more experienced in females and sexual situations, he would have understood that he was being flirted with – but instead, all he could focus on was the way his softening arousal suddenly came back to life with a vengeance, straining against his boxers desperately as Bel's mind went straight to the gutter.

Bel stammered something incomprehensible as he slid his bag off his shoulder and held it to his chest, holding it low enough to hide the large bulge in his pants as he ran off. He wondered if he would have time for a quick session in the bathrooms before he would have to be in class, but he decided against it; the last thing he needed was to give himself a reputation on his first day of school.

 _ **~~XX~~**_

Bel had no idea how he had gotten through his classes with a raging hard-on that prevented him from focusing on anything else – but somehow, he had managed to keep his hands out of his pants and remain in his seat until the bell rang before he made his way to Tsuna's classroom where they led him out to the roof. It hadn't taken them long at all to notice that something was wrong with Bel, and upon hearing of their friend's problem, they shyly allowed him to go the bathroom and return later.

And now, as Bel walked to Takeshi's family restaurant with the younger three, he eagerly awaited for the moment Fran would come to join them. He had been happy that Fumie was allowing him to continue doing what he had back when he had been in Squalo's care, knowing that at least he wasn't going to have to change his routines too drastically; he might not be able to go places as much as he used to, but his freedom hadn't been stripped completely from him.

Bel hadn't said much during the walk, and after arriving at Takeshi's, he had picked at the sushi the younger's father had given them all; he was deep in thought, just wanting to see Fran again.

"Senpai, is it possible that you've gotten fatter since the last time I saw you?"

Bel froze at the voice and narrowed his eyes; so much for a happy reunion where they would run into each other's arms and kiss… "Fuck you, frog."

The boy couldn't stay mad for long; he could only move over to make room for his boyfriend. Leaning across, he placed a kiss on Fran's lips before taking another bite of his sushi and sliding the plate between them so that the younger could also eat.

It wasn't exactly unusual for Bel to stay so quiet for long periods of time and instead listen to the conversation around him; he usually did this when he was fighting the urge to masturbate. He had been doing so well all day, having only done so twice during school, but now that Fran was back by his side...

Bel pushed his plate away and jumped to his feet, holding one hand against the tent in his pants. He started running towards the living quarters as he called over his shoulder, "I need to use the bathroom!"

Four sets of eyes watched the blond leave before Fran let out a dramatic sigh, as emotionless as ever as he said, "At least stupid-senpai will never have to worry about needing to use Viagra."

There was shy laughter around the teal-haired male, but Fran knew he was right; Bel had enough excess hormones to supply him with sexual energy until the day he died.

 _ **~~XX~~**_

Fumie had picked the two up later that night from Takeshi's, and the woman was just glad that Bel was seeming happier now that he had Fran with him. The two were seated on the couch in the living room together, the blond holding Fran's hand tightly as they watched a horror movie. While Fran was as emotionless as ever, Bel looked to be in his glee; he was giggling continuously and jumping around like an overexcited child every ten minutes.

Fumie didn't mind this; it instead made her joyful to see her adoptive son finally happy within her home.

"Ne, Froggy?" Bel turned to his boyfriend and shoved the empty bowl of popcorn at the younger. "The prince requires more popcorn for his movie."

"Get it yourself, fake prince." Sighing when he was jabbed harder with the bowl, Fran took it and stood up. "Fine, I'm going. You can stop having an orgasm now."

Bel rolled his eyes before he turned back to the movie and absentmindedly gave his awakened crotch a few good strokes. He snatched the bowl back when Fran returned a few minutes later, shovelling popcorn into his mouth like there was no tomorrow. Fran was much more dignified; he took small handfuls and only ate a few kernels at a time.

The two were enjoying their movie immensely, but Bel's attention was soon grabbed when large headlights started shining through the sliding glass door next to the TV. He frowned, knowing that Fumie was in the kitchen and he hadn't been told she was expecting anyone; who did those headlights belong to?

And then, when the headlights got closer, Bel's breath caught in his throat; it was a huge truck, one that looked just like the one that had put him in this situation. He started trembling, unable to move from the couch no matter how much he wanted to get up and run in case the vehicle was out of control and about to plow right through the house. Tears started sliding down his cheeks as he sobbed like a baby, memories flashing through his mind at an uncontrollable rate; there was a reason he always stayed as far away from the roads as he could, because even a truck on TV would send him back to the nightmare he had only just survived.

"Bel-senpai?" Putting his hand on Bel's shoulder, Fran guessed it was the truck outside that had caused this. He turned back to the door, watching as the truck parked off to the side of the house, the engine and headlights turning off. He didn't know who it could be, but he already didn't like them; they had upset his senpai.

Fumie must have heard them as she came back into the living room and knelt by Bel's side. "It's alright, honey; it's just my husband. You're safe."

In this moment, Bel was too blinded by his trauma to take notice of who was around him; he couldn't help but lean into Fumie's arms and cry as his anxiety skyrocketed. All he could remember was the crash, playing it over and over and over again in his mind uncontrollably.

It broke Fran's heart to see his senpai like this, but he had to understand; he had no idea of the impact that crash had left behind on Bel, and even if the blond were to explain everything to him, he might still never understand – he had quite simply never been through something so horrible, after all.

 _ **~~XX~~**_

Bel had eventually calmed down, and after meeting Fumie's husband for the first time and being taken out to see the truck so that he could understand he was safe around it, he had been able to stop crying. He was still very anxious, and he couldn't stop trembling, despite him and Fran getting ready for bed. It was getting late, and while neither of them had school in the morning, Bel was exhausted from before and needed to get some rest.

While Fran was already laying on Bel's bed, the blond soon finished buttoning up his pyjama shirt and came to lay with his boyfriend. He pulled Fran into his arms as he kissed the younger's chin, trying to focus on his breathing until he calmed down a little more.

Fran didn't say a word as he closed his eyes and started drifting off to sleep, but Bel couldn't fall asleep so easily; now that his anxiety was starting to dwindle, arousal was taking its place. He sighed as he shifted his position, inadvertently rubbing himself against his boyfriend's backside.

"Senpai, haven't you been horny enough today?" Not bothering to open his eyes, Fran remained still as he spoke. "Go to sleep."

Licking his lips now that he knew Fran was still awake, Bel reached out to press his palm against the younger's crotch. "Froggy can tire himself out with the prince if he likes."

Fran shook his head. "No." But then, to Bel's honest surprise, the boy rolled over and grabbed the blond's clothed shaft. He lowered the fabric before saying, "If I give senpai a handjob, will he go to sleep after?"

Bel could only nod breathlessly as his breath stuck in his throat. He let out a loud groan as he felt the small hand moving along him, and he reached out to pull Fran tight against his body. Burying his face in against teal locks, he made small noises of pleasure as he rocked his hips into the touch.

It didn't take long at all for Bel to come, coming to realise that he was going to need to find a way to calm himself down whenever he was intimate with Fran because his excitement was simply too much and was pushing him over the edge far quicker than he wanted. Cupping Fran's face and giving the smaller male a passionate kiss, Bel then settled back down, softly panting as he did so.

Smiling as he rested his nose in teal locks, Bel whispered, "Goodnight, Froggy~"

"Night…"

With that said, the two drifted into sleep, their dreams untroubled now that they were back together again.


	15. Chapter 15

**The sexual content has been moved to my Tumblr blog. You will find a link to said Tumblr blog in my author profile. Please feel free to follow it and request anything from me; I would be very happy to be able to please my readers even more.**

When Bel woke up a few mornings later, it was to someone shaking him and calling his name. He groaned as he tried to open his eyes; despite having gone to bed early and sleeping through the night, he was still feeling exhausted and was finding it hard to look at whoever was rousing him.

"No…" Bel batted sleepily at the hands on his shoulder before he rolled over a few times and pulled the blankets up over him. "Too tired…"

"Sweetheart, it's time for school." Fumie continued trying to wake Bel; she was concerned, knowing this wasn't like the younger. "You have to wake up and have your breakfast. Fran has already had his."

Bel tried to force his eyes open as he heard his boyfriend's name. He remembered how Fran had spent the night with him, and he groaned quietly in physical discomfort as he realised the younger male's body was no longer in his arms; why hadn't the other woken him so they could eat together? "F-froggy…"

The boy sat when small hands guided him up, but he couldn't do much more than sway sleepily on the spot and try to keep his eyes open; it had been so long since he had had a full night's sleep and it was something he had needed so badly, he almost couldn't wake up.

"Are you feeling okay, honey?" Fumie knew that Bel spent a lot of his time in exhaustion, but she hadn't seen him like this; Bel looked as if he was going to collapse on the spot. "Do you want to stay home?"

Bel shook his head; he wanted so badly to stay in bed and sleep, but he had tests to do at school. He sighed as he dropped his head to Fumie's shoulder and allowed his eyelids to droop shut once more. He groaned when his new guardian tried to lay him back down on the mattress, licking his lips before mumbling, "Gotta do tests…"

Fumie understood. She watched as Bel slowly pushed himself back up, and she reached out to caress his cheek. "Lay down for a little while longer, hon; you look exhausted."

Bel nodded, agreeing wholeheartedly; he had no idea if he was going to be able to get up any time soon. Falling back to the mattress, he was asleep within seconds of his head hitting the pillow.

 _ **~~XX~~**_

Bel was able to finish his first test for the day within minutes, having already learnt the topics long ago. When the teacher noticed that he was sitting at his desk fidgeting, the boy had been sent to the library so that he could have some time to himself to adjust to his new school and classes. He had left eagerly, not wanting to stay in such a silent, tense environment; he had always hated tests because silence made him anxious, making him remember his stay in the hospital all those years ago.

After entering the library, Bel took a seat quietly at a table in the back where he was away from the other students; he just wanted to be left alone so that he could familiarise himself with his new school. As he flicked through his list of subjects, he wondered if he would be learning anything he didn't already know; none of his classes were different from his old school, but would they have covered the same topics at the same time?

To his dismay, however, there was nothing Bel was going to be taught that he didn't already know; his topic guides were reversed from his old school, so everything he would have been covering for the rest of the year had he not transferred, he would have learnt at the start of the year in this new school.

With a sigh, Bel pushed his textbooks away so that he could drop his head to the table and try to get a bit of rest; he was still tired, and he was considering going home sick if he could re-schedule his tests.

"It's Belphegor, right?"

Bel frowned as he lifted his head. He found that same black-haired student from Tsuna's class looking down at him with an expression on her face he wasn't familiar with. He nodded, and he could feel his face heat up as his eyes wandered down to fix on the girl's breasts. "I prefer Bel... I never got your name, though…"

"You can call me Anko." The flirtatious tone in the girl's voice was one Bel could recognise from all of the porn he had consumed over the years; it reminded him of when the female stars were seducing their male counterparts. He felt his mouth go dry, and he had to move a hand to his lap to try and hide his arousal; he had never been around girls enough to realise that they only had to come into his personal space before he got horny. "I saw your YouTube channel last night. You're really cute. Even your voice was getting me a little wet."

Bel licked at his lips as his arousal grew to a near-painful state. He felt as if he had lost all capability of thought, because all he knew was that, when a small hand grabbed his wrist and pulled him up, he didn't hesitate to stand. "…"

"Let's go somewhere a little more,,, _private_." Anko didn't need to see the breathless way Bel nodded; she knew he was like putty in her fingertips already.

Bel wasn't able to think about anything other than the fact that he wasn't sure he had ever felt this horny before. It was true that as much as he had always wanted sex, he had never sought it out from his classmates; he _did_ have a lot of respect f or himself, and he had never wanted to act like a slut and have one-night stands. But then again, Bel had never considered someone _else_ coming onto him like this, and self-respect or not, he was struggling to turn this once-in-a-lifetime offer down.

 _But what about Fran?_

Anko must have felt him hesitate in his steps as she turned around and looked at Bel. "What's wrong?"

Bel licked his lips before he tried to explain his situation; he loved Fran, and he didn't want to cheat on his boyfriend – but even so, why was it so hard for him to say no? "…I… I, uh… H-have a – nghn…"

Bel choked on all coherent thought he had when he felt fingers caress the bulge in the front of his pants. He barely took notice of the fact that they were on the stairs leading up to the roof; all he knew was that he was eagerly following behind the girl who was still holding his dick.

It was when they were finally standing on the roof and Anko had taken them to a corner where no one would see them did Bel finally realise what was going to happen; he was finally going to get his first experience being with a girl.

 **~~SEXUAL CONTENT MOVED TO TUMBLR; LINK IN AUTHOR PROFILE~~**

Anko didn't seem to mind how little time Bel had lasted; she had just licked her now-wet lips clean before smirking. In the same flirtatious tone she had used earlier, she reached out to cup Bel's cheek before saying, "You're such a big boy; if you want more, just let me know. I'm sure I can help you work on your stamina."

Bel could feel himself trembling from what had been insinuated; he knew he had just been given an offer to fuck her. He wanted so badly to say yes, to take her here and now and _finally_ get to feel what the female anatomy was like – but then he remembered Fran, and how he had just cheated on his boyfriend.

Unable to say anything as Anko left, Bel sat sprawled on the roof with his back against the wall. It took him several minutes to regain his bearings, and when he did, he slowly pulled his pants back up before he grabbed his phone from his pocket. He sighed as he dialled for Fran, hoping the younger would pick up if he weren't in class; he knew he had done the wrong thing, and he felt so incredibly guilty, he didn't even want to _attempt_ to hide it from his boyfriend – he just… hadn't been thinking when he went along with this…

"Senpai?"

Bel let out a sigh of relief when he heard the younger's voice over the phone. "Froggy…"

"Senpai, you sound sad." As always, Fran was on the ball. "Did something happen?"

Bel mumbled something before falling silent. He glared at the ground as if it had been the one to give him a blowjob. "…I… I tried to say no…"

"Senpai?" There was the slightest hint of emotion in the younger's voice now, and it only made the blond feel so much guiltier. "Was senpai raped?"

Bel swallowed thickly and then shook his head. "…It wasn't rape… I… I wanted it…"

"…"

"Froggy…?" Bel could feel tears well up in his eyes, terrified of the idea of Fran hating him; why hadn't he just said _no…?_ "…Froggy, I... I'm sorry…"

"It's okay, senpai." Bel knew his boyfriend well enough to know that Fran was sincere; there was no hate or anger in the younger's tone – instead, it sounded almost… _understanding_. "You have needs, and I haven't really given you what you need from me."

"Froggy…"

"Don't get me wrong, senpai; I don't like it. But you were honest and admitted it to me right away. Just don't do it again without talking to me first."

Bel nodded, despite knowing the other couldn't see it. "I love you, Froggy."

Fran hummed in response. "I gotta go; Master's teaching me stuff I already know and is getting impatient."

Bel chuckled. "Bye-bii~" With that said, he ended the call. Feeling a lot better about his previous encounter now that he knew Fran understood, he stood up. After making sure his pants were clean and buckled once more, he left to return to the library for his belongings, wondering why Anko had been out of class in the first place; had she purposely left to seek him out?

When the boy returned to his library table, Bel wiped away the last of the sweat on his face before he sat down at it and folded his arms on the surface so that he could rest his head on them; after the intense influx of sensations he had never experienced before, he certainly was too exhausted to return to class.

 _ **~~XX~~**_

"Squalo spoke to Fumie earlier."

Bel glanced up from his bento and looked at Dino as he sat in the man's office for lunch. "Yeah?"

"He asked if he could spend some time with you for your birthday next week. He told her that he always takes you to see your family's graves on your birthday because it's the anniversary."

Bel frowned as he looked to his lap. He licked his lips before asking, "What did she say…?"

"She said it's okay with her and you can spend the night before your birthday with us, and Squalo will bring you back the next evening. Is that okay with you?"

Bel nodded, just glad that Fumie was allowing him to be with his family; he didn't know what he would have done had she tried to take him away from all he had known. "Will I still get presents this year?"

"Of course." Dino reached out and pulled Bel into a tight embrace. Once he moved away, he ruffled golden locks in affection before saying, "Just because you were adopted doesn't mean Squalo and I don't think of you as our kid anymore; we still love you just as much as we did when Squalo first begun to foster you. In fact, Squalo got you something very special for your present and he hopes you'll appreciate it; it's from all of us."

Bel smiled. "What is it?"

"It's a surprise. If I tell you, Squalo will skin me alive."

The boy laughed softly; he was glad that his family hadn't changed because he wasn't sure if he would be able to handle it if they did; they were all he had, and he would give up his gaming in a heartbeat if it meant keeping his favourite people forever.

"Do you remember when you were little, and Squalo and I had had a fight?" Dino cocked his head to the side as his hazel eyes crinkled with happiness. "You were still really shy around me and whenever you got out of your wheelchair, you'd attach yourself to Squalo's leg and follow him everywhere like a lost puppy."

Bel nodded at the memories; it had been so frightening to remember nothing but the crash, so he had naturally glued himself to the only thing he knew; Squalo. He hadn't been able to get out of his wheelchair often, and so whenever he did, he had needed his guardian's help to walk; he would hug the man's leg tightly and cling to his pants as Squalo held his shoulders to keep him from falling. "Yeah; my doctor said I needed to be weaned off of Squ because I had bad separation anxiety."

"Do you remember how you were too shy to talk to me, but when I came around to make up with Squalo for our fight, I gave him a giant tuna? And he slapped me in the face with it and yelled at me because only Squalo is allowed to give tuna as gifts. That was the first time I saw you smile, and I hadn't heard your voice until you laughed at it."

Bel nodded again. It had taken him a long time to get over his shyness; he hadn't spoken to anyone until Squalo and instead would hide behind his guardian whenever the man had visitors. "You got so excited, you tried to hug me but you tripped over and knocked Squalo to the ground and broke his arm."

Dino laughed nervously and rubbed the back of his head; that wasn't what he had wanted to bring up, but at least it was making Bel smile. He reached out and hugged the boy tight, just so happy that he could still have the younger in his life. "I love you so much, Bel. You mean the world to Squalo, too. We just want you to be happy, alright? We would do anything for you."

Bel returned the hug and nuzzled into the man's hold. He had always wondered if maybe his parents had been anything like how Squalo and Dino were, or if his family had never died, if he would have been as happy with them as he was with his guardian. Whenever Squalo fussed over him, he wondered if that was what it was like to have a mother, and if Dino really _did_ act like a true father would. He loved Dino and Squalo so much, but could they compare to real parents? Bel wished so badly to know.

"I love you, too, Dino…" Bel blinked as he felt hot tears run down his cheeks. "I love you, too…"

Dino never stopped Bel from crying; he simply held the boy until the younger was able to wipe away his tears and finish his bento.


	16. Chapter 16

When Bel wandered out onto Fumie's property a few days later, he scrunched his nose up as he felt dirt and pebbles slide beneath his favourite white boots with every step he took; he hoped they wouldn't get dirty because they had been a gift from Squalo and Dino and he didn't want them damaged. It was when he noticed his boots beginning to turn brown did he realise he didn't like the country very much, instead preferring the solid cement of walkways, but he knew he couldn't complain; this was what he had to live with now.

It wasn't that the boy had left the safety of the house willingly; it was more that he needed to go for a walk to look after his back to try and prevent it from getting any worse. He didn't know where he was supposed to walk on the farm as it was mostly paddocks surrounding the house and he felt uncomfortable walking along the road where cars and trucks would fly past him; was he supposed to walk circles around the house or something?

Just when Bel was about to go back inside and wait for Fumie to come home from work before he took his walk, he heard a bang coming from the side of the house. He frowned, wondering if he should investigate; what if someone was trying to break in or something?

Finally deciding to at least peek around the corner and see what was going on, Bel walked to the side and found Fumie's husband seemingly working on his truck. He sucked in an anxious breath at the sight, but he forced himself to approach; he had to trust that the truck wasn't going to go anywhere if its driver had opened the engine bay and was currently laying beneath the truck to check something.

"Hi." Bel stuffed his hands in his pockets as he stood to the side of the truck; at least if it somehow decided to move, he would be out of its path of destruction.

The brown-haired man pulled himself out from beneath the truck so that he could look at Bel. He offered a smile as he pushed his glasses back onto his face. "Hello, Bel. What brings you out here?"

The boy shrugged. He looked out to one of the paddocks as he heard a horse neigh from the fence line; he knew that Fumie and her husband owned many animals, but apart from his own mink, he didn't really like pets very much and preferred to keep away from them. "I was going to go for my walk, but then I realised I wasn't really sure where I wanted to go…"

The man Bel had come to learn was named Satoshi pointed past the house and in the direction of the dairy located further down. "If you go past the dairy and follow the road to the equipment shed and calf housing, you can cut through the paddock on your right and walk along the creek if you want to."

Bel nodded. He wasn't really interested in such an environment, but he knew he didn't have much of a choice if he wanted to keep himself from being in a wheelchair by the time he was twenty; he had been told last year by his physiotherapist that if he didn't start taking care of himself more, he was going to end up unable to walk. "What'cha doin'?"

"Oh, just making sure everything's in order on the truck; I usually check for anything that might need fixing before each job."

The boy felt his heart sinking at those words; what if…? "Do you think you could tell if your brakes are going to stop working all of a sudden…?"

Satoshi rubbed his cheek. "Well… Sometimes things just fail on any vehicle, and trucks are no exception. I guess it depends on what exactly causes them to stop working."

"Do you think if that truck driver looked after his truck like you do, he wouldn't have hit so many cars…?" Bel felt sick as he waited for a response; did he really want to know the answer in the first place…?

"That's a hard one, Bel. I mean, that truck could have had a full service just before the job and the brakes could have been overlooked or something just went wrong and they failed. Perhaps the truck hadn't been looked after very well. But no matter how well you look after your cars and trucks, there are some things that will just happen, Bel. It's a fact that we all have to accept whenever we get into one."

Bel looked to the ground. "…Is the… Is the handbrake on…?"

"The truck isn't going anywhere; I promise. You're safe, no matter how close you come to it right now."

Bel took a shaky breath before he forced himself to walk. He trembled, hesitating several times, but soon he found himself standing close enough to the truck that he could reach out and touch it if he wanted to. "…So… You know… how to repair trucks…?"

"Well, I can't exactly fix my own truck for everything that goes wrong with it, but I certainly know how to maintain the important things. Come closer; let me show you the engine bay."

The younger felt as if he could throw up as he came close enough to peer into the engine bay. He truthfully had no idea what he was looking at as he had never even so much as looked at a car's engine bay before, and even with Satoshi trying to explain things to him, he was still finding it all difficult to take in; it made no sense as he was told what each part was and what their purpose was, and all he wanted was to be away from the truck.

"Come into the cabin; you can drive it if you want."

Bel almost yelped at this; was… was the other _serious?!_ "I've never even driven a _car_ before!"

Satoshi shook his hand dismissively. "It'll be fine; there's plenty of room for you and no other cars around. And I'll be right beside you to help you."

The boy could have cried; he found it hard enough to sit in a car and let others drive him around – how the fuck was he supposed to drive a _truck?!_

But for some reason, Bel found himself getting into the driver's seat and listening intently to every instruction he was given. He was unable to move the truck very far as his anxiety was making it very difficult to coordinate the clutch and accelerator, and there were just far too many gears for him to work out – even more than just the six gears in Squalo's car he had watched his old guardian change so many times.

"Do you want to drive my car around the house to learn how to change gears?" Satoshi was being so kind to Bel, and it almost made the boy cry; how lucky he was to have been placed in a great foster home and then be adopted by caring parents; so many children bounced around foster care due to abuse, but Bel had been lucky enough to have never experienced such a thing in his previous eight years.

"Umm… M-maybe another time…" Bel double-triple-quadruple-checked that he had locked the wheels so the truck wouldn't go anywhere; he would be stressed for the rest of the day if he couldn't reassure himself now that he had safely parked the truck. "I-I… I really don't like cars and trucks…"

"I appreciate that." Satoshi smiled. "You were very brave to try to drive the truck. I'm glad you gave it a go. You didn't have to wear your seatbelt, though; you would have been safe without it."

Bel's eyes widened as blurred images flashed through his mind. He couldn't quite make out the picture, but he could hear the words clear as day; three unfamiliar voices and one he recognised as his own when he was young.

"Bel?" Satoshi was worried when Bel dropped to his knees; he hadn't seen the boy like this before and it greatly concerned him. "Bel, what's happened?"

Bel stared ahead of him as tears ran down his cheeks; all he could focus on was the conversation he couldn't remember having.

" _Bel, honey, you shouldn't take your seatbelt off when you're in the car."_ Bel didn't remember ever hearing this voice before, and he could only wonder who he was hearing; the voice was feminine, and it didn't make him feel anxious; instead, it made him feel almost calm and relaxed, as if that voice belonged to someone he had once loved dearly but now didn't remember. _"If we have an accident, you will get hurt."_

" _But, momma, I don't like wearing it…! It's annoying…!"_ Despite his lack of memories for the first eight years of his life, Bel could remember back far enough to recognise his own whining; was he remembering his mother…?

" _Wear your seatbelt, or you could go through the windshield if something happens."_ This voice was masculine, and Bel didn't need to wonder about this one; his gut told him it belonged to his father.

" _Yeah, Belphegor; wear your seatbelt, little brother. I'll click it in for you."_

The rest of the conversation was jumbled for a few seconds, but then it became clear again as the terrified screaming Bel had heard countless times over and over played again through his mind, but this time, it was accompanied by clear words that had only ever been jumbled and incomprehensible previously.

" _M-momma, it's stuck!"_ Bel shuddered as his frightened cry echoed through his mind. The picture in his mind was still slightly blurred, but he was able to see that, all those years ago, he had been trying desperately to unclip his seatbelt, but it was stuck fast. For the first time, he was able to see hands maybe just the tiniest bit bigger than his own trying to help him with it. _"Mommy…!"_

" _It's okay, Bel."_ Bel could hear the horror in her voice, and it was then he could see her hands snaking over to the seatbelt as well. He felt as if he could throw up as he heard the car door open; he remembered being told that his father had been found outside and beneath two cars; had the man abandoned them all…? _"It's going to be okay."_

It felt like an eternity had passed before the seatbelt finally unclipped and Bel's mother screamed for them to get out of the car – but try as Bel might to open the door, the child-lock had been activated, and the woman wasn't fast enough to get out of the to open the door for her children; she had just stepped out onto the cement and was open to open the back door when the cars behind them were launched forward, one taking her down as several others slammed into the back of her car, sending Bel through the windshield and out onto the pavement below. There was nothing he could do to avoid the car that had been flipped into the air; as it rolled along the ground, the solid weight of it crushed him as it passed over him.

" _Mommy…! Mommy…!"_ Tears slid down Bel's cheeks as he remembered laying on the road, choking on his own blood as he screamed for his mother. He had always remembered this part, and it always terrified him.

"Bel!"

Bel snapped back to reality as he finally took notice of Satoshi shaking him. He reached up to wipe at his eyes as he whimpered, not knowing what to say; what _was_ he supposed to say? "…"

"Bel, what happened?" Satoshi was kneeling down so that he could hold the boy's shoulders. "Are you okay?"

Bel shook his head; he really didn't want to talk about what he had just remembered – how was he supposed to talk about the fact that he could almost remember the entire crash? He hadn't been able to remember anything about his family, but now he was sure that, while his mother must have loved him and his brother, his father had abandoned them so selfishly; it might not have been so devastating, and they might have been able to get away unharmed if the man had stayed behind to help get Bel out of the seatbelt.

Satoshi was gentle as he pushed on Bel's shoulders to get the boy walking. He directed the younger back into the house as he said, "Come on; let's get you some rest."

Bel couldn't argue; all he could do was allow himself to be taken back to his room and laid down in his bed. He cooperated as he was tucked in tight; all he wanted was to be where he was comfortable so that he could cry.

It was times like these he wished he was still with Squalo, because he didn't feel comfortable enough talking to anyone else about this.

 _ **~~XX~~**_

"Hey, sweetheart. Feeling okay?"

Bel lifted his head from the pillow and looked at his doorway. His face was still stained with tears but he had long-since stopped crying; he felt as if he had nothing left. "Fumie…"

Fumie entered the room with a tray in her hands. She sat at the edge of the boy's bed before she handed him a glass of chocolate milk and a bowl of ice cream. She reached out and caressed golden locks as she said, "Satoshi told me you got really upset earlier. Are you okay now?"

Bel sipped at his milk. He didn't say anything for several seconds. "...I remembered something about my family…"

"Are they not what you thought they would be?" Fumie's tone was gentle, and it was what Bel needed in this moment to coax him into opening up; it would only distress him further if he felt he was under pressure to talk to her.

Bel shrugged. "…I… M-my dad… I… don't know… what to think… B-but my mum… She died trying to get me and my brother out of the car…"

"Bel…"

"I didn't remember any of that… It was all so jumbled… I just… I just remembered the impact and going through the windshield…"

"Honey…"

Bel shook his head. "…It's all my fault… My seatbelt got stuck… They should have just left me behind…"

"Don't say that, Bel; your mother must have loved you to try and get you out."

"It should have been me…"

"Sweetheart…" Fumie knew that Bel was feeling depressed, so it was understandable he was feeling this way; she, too, probably would have reacted negatively if she was in Bel's position. "Look, your ice cream and chocolate milk are here. Eat and drink what you can and try to get some sleep, okay? You need some rest."

Bel nodded. He curled up beneath his blankets once more, not even in the mood for either of his treats; he just wanted to be left alone. "I don't think I want dinner tonight…"

"I know, Bel. Get some sleep." With that said, Fumie gave the boy a tight hug and left the room. She would be there for him if he sought her out to talk to, but for now, he just needed to have some time to himself.

It didn't take Bel long to fall asleep, and when he did, he found himself remembering the crash over and over and over again until he just couldn't sleep anymore.


	17. Chapter 17

**Like the other chapter, I will leave the sexual content up for a few days before I move it over to my Tumblr account. You can find them under the tags Desire15 and Desire17.**

On the morning of Bel's birthday, he woke up in his old bedroom at Squalo's home to Dino shaking him excitedly. He groaned as he opened his eyes, not sure he wanted to get up just yet; he was still pretty tired, and the clock on his bedside table flashed six o'clock.

"Dino, do I really have to get up so early…?" Bel rolled onto his back and draped his arm over his eyes. He let out a yawn as he felt the man sit next to him; it wasn't that he didn't appreciate how excited they were for his birthday, but couldn't they celebrate it with him a little later…?

"If you sleep in, then most of us won't be here with you. It'll only be me and Squalo because everyone else will be at work and Fran at school." Dino reached out and grabbed Bel's shoulders to pull him into a sitting position. "Come on. Let everyone give you their presents and then you can go back to sleep when they're gone, alright? They won't get to see you tonight."

Bel sighed. He finally gave in at these words; he loved his family, and he _did_ miss them. Surely it wouldn't hurt to get up early just this once. "Fine…"

Dino helped the younger out of bed before he said, "I'll go and make you a hot chocolate. Get dressed, alright?"

The boy nodded. He rolled off the bed and grabbed his backpack from the ground so that he could get dressed; in hindsight, they should have left some of his belongings here for the odd visits he made instead of bringing everything straight to Fumie's.

When he was dressed just a minute later, Bel stepped out of his room and headed for the kitchen. He was just in time to receive his mug of hot chocolate from Dino, and after a few sips, he followed the older blond into the living room. He was prepared for the onslaught of attention he would receive, but it still wasn't enough to stop himself from spilling his drink when Lussuria tackle-hugged him to the ground; he never could seem to prepare himself for the flamboyant male's love, no matter what.

"Bel-chan~!" Lussuria rubbed his cheek against the boy's as he held the younger as tight as he could. "Bel-chan, I really miss you~! I hope you're happy with Fumie-chan~"

"Lussu, you're hurting my back…" Bel frowned as he held his hot chocolate to his chest in a death grip; he didn't want to spill it all over the floor before he got to enjoy it. "Please let go…"

"Oh, I'm sorry, sweetheart~" Lussuria immediately released the boy and took a few steps back. He reached out so that he could rub the younger's back, knowing that he had been too rough in his excitement; Bel couldn't have too much pressure on his back or lift anything heavy or else he ran the risk of being paralysed. "I was just so happy to see you again~"

Bel patted the man's arm. "I know… I miss you, too, Lussu…"

The flamboyant man tugged Bel over to the rest of the group, humming to himself as he did so. He watched as Mammon and Bel hugged tight before the boy approached his boyfriend and leant down for a kiss. He giggled at the sight, finding the two to be absolutely adorable together.

"Oh, Bel-chan, have you _missed_ Fran-chan?" Lussuria's devious smirk appeared on his face as he wriggled his eyebrows. Bel scowled at him before he sat down on the couch in between Xanxus and Fran, not wanting to answer the question; he didn't want everyone to know how much he had been masturbating since he wasn't able to see Fran all the time anymore.

"Where's Squ?" Bel found it strange that his once-guardian wasn't present for the morning of his birthday; he would have thought that Squalo would have been the one to wake him out of sheer excitement. But instead, it had been Dino to take care of him.

"He'll be back soon," Dino promised. "I had to drop him off early this morning, but he won't be long."

Bel nodded. He opened his mouth to say something else, but he stopped when Lussuria bounded up to him once more, this time with a gift in his hands. The small box was shoved into his hands, and the man looked so excited in this moment; Lussuria seemed confident in Bel liking his present.

"Open it, Bel-chan~" Lussuria could barely contain his joy as he watched the younger tear through the gift wrap; he could never get enough of seeing the delight on the boy's face whenever Bel opened his gifts at celebrations.

The boy soon removed all of the gift wrap, and when he found that he was holding one of the new games that had just come out three days ago, he couldn't help but reach out to hug Lussuria. "Thanks, Lussu~!"

Lussuria retuned the hug. "I'm glad you like it; I asked Fumie if you already had it and she said that she hadn't had a chance to take you into town to get it yet."

Bel nodded; unlike at Squalo's where he had always just walked into town to get new games, he couldn't do anything until Fumie or Satoshi were able to drive him to the store.

The next gift he received was from Xanxus, and surprisingly enough, the man simply threw a gift card at him with a grunt before he stood up to go back to his room. Bel appreciated it; he knew it was incredibly rare for the other to so much as consider birthdays, let alone give gifts – Xanxus must have appreciated Bel more than he had let on.

"Here you go, Bel." Mammon pulled an envelope from her pocket and passed it to the younger. "There's money in there for you."

Bel opened the card and read it, pleased to see that the woman had bothered to write him a message instead of simply signing it; Mammon had always had a way with words and he loved hearing what she had to say. He was even more pleased to see that she had left him a generous sum; Mammon was greedy, and she didn't just give her money away to _anyone_.

"Thanks, Mammy~" Bel gave his friend a hug, and it made him so happy to feel her hugging him back; he had always been close to Mammon, and he would have been heartbroken if she decided to forget him since the adoption.

"Put it into your bank and save up, okay?" Mammon had never been one for physical contact, but she had missed her young friend; she put her hand on the boy's shoulder for a few seconds before she pulled away. "Happy birthday."

Bel kissed Mammon's cheek before he turned expectantly towards Fran. His grin widened as the younger stood up and approached him; he could only imagine what the teenager had gotten him as a birthday present.

Fran leant up on his tiptoes so that he could kiss his boyfriend. "Happy birthday, senpai."

Bel's smile faltered as he realised that he wasn't about to receive anything from the smaller male. He was saddened, but not because of the lack of gifts – rather, he was hurt that Fran didn't seem to care enough about him to want to get him something for his birthday. "F-froggy…"

Fran understood what Bel was bothered about; he knew the boy well, after all. "I have a present for you, senpai. I just can't give it to you in front of everyone."

Despite his tired state, Bel still felt his pants getting tight at these words. He knew Fran probably didn't mean anything sexual, but still… That was how he had taken those words. "Can I have my present now if we go to your room?"

Fran shook his head. "Not yet, senpai; Squalo and Dino still have to give you their presents."

"Yes, but Squalo will still be a little while, so you two can go to Fran's room for now." Dino knew what Fran's present was as the teenager had already spoken to him and Squalo about it. He couldn't help but laugh softly, knowing that Bel would enjoy his boyfriend's gift the most; he would honestly be surprised if the boy was unhappy with it. "Go on. I'll knock on your door when Squalo's back."

"Let's go, Froggy!" Bel stood up and grabbed Fran's hand eagerly. "Come on! I want to see what you have for me!"

Fran sighed. He allowed himself to be tugged along, used to Bel's random bursts of energy; the boy could be exhausted and half asleep one second, and then the next, he could be bouncing around the house like an over-excited child on a sugar rush.

Once they were in Fran's room, Bel jumped up onto his boyfriend's bed and sat as he waited eagerly for his present. "Can I have it now, Froggy?"

Fran said nothing as he moved to sit beside Bel. When he laid down, the blond followed suit. "I just want to talk to you first."

Bel nodded. He reached out and threaded his fingers through the younger's hair. "Of course, Froggy."

Fran didn't hesitate to speak what was on his mind; he wasn't afraid of Bel not understanding or getting upset over it because he felt as if the blond would support him no matter what; Bel had always been that kind of person; incredibly loyal to those he was able to put his trust into.

"I was talking to Squalo and Dino not long ago and I think I might be asexual." Fran didn't miss the look of surprise on the older male's face, but he continued on; he knew it was something Bel needed to hear because this would be what either makes or breaks their relationship. "I just don't think I'm interested in sex."

Bel was silent for a few moments before he reached out and pulled Fran into his arms. He nuzzled his face into teal locks before he smiled. "S'okay, Froggy. We don't have to have sex if you don't want it."

"Senpai, I really don't believe you right now because I can feel your dick twitching against my ass." Fran made no move to pull away; he just laid where he was and enjoyed the feeling of Bel nuzzling in against him and holding him tighter.

"Shishi~" Bel shook his head. "I'm always horny, Froggy; you know that. But that doesn't mean we have to do anything. I can take care of myself when I'm horny."

"But senpai has needs, and he shouldn't have to masturbate himself when he has a boyfriend." Fran rolled his eyes. "I just might not want to have sex, but I can do other things with you if you want me to."

Bel swallowed the excited lump in his throat; his mind was going straight to the gutter. "F-froggy… I…"

Fran rolled over so that he could trap Bel beneath his weight. He reached down to unzip the boy's pants, but he was stopped when the other yelped and pushed his hands away. "What's wrong, senpai?"

"W-what are you doing?!" A dark blush crossed Bel's face. "Froggy!"

"I'm trying to give you a blowjob, senpai. I doubt you'd have protested against that girl when she sucked your cock for you." Fran wasn't offended; he was just surprised that Bel was resisting what they both knew he wanted more than anything.

"Yeah, but…" Bel shook his head. He pulled Fran back down on top of him and held his boyfriend tight. When he spoke, it was in a quiet voice. "But Froggy just told me he's asexual. It's okay; I don't want you to do anything you don't want to do."

Fran closed his eyes. He relaxed into the embrace, finally coming to realise that Bel genuinely loved him. He had never actually doubted the boy before, but to know that Bel valued Fran more than _sex_ …

"I love you, Froggy." Bel kissed his boyfriend's cheek before he looked into the emerald eyes. He felt his chest swell with an immense amount of love; he didn't know where it had all come from, but it hadn't been until this moment did he realise that he loved Fran more than he had ever known.

Fran didn't know how to reply back to these words; he had certainly stopped trialling their relationship for himself and begun to date Bel seriously, but did he _love_ the boy? He wasn't sure; he had never thought about it before. "…"

Bel didn't need to hear a reply; he just wanted to kiss Fran senseless. He leaned in slowly so that he could capture soft lips with his own, and he wasn't sure if he had ever kissed the other so passionately before; all he knew was that the festering in his damaged heart was slowly healing with each passing second. When they pulled away for air, he stared once more into emerald eyes before he kissed Fran again and again, unable to get enough of the serenity he was feeling in this moment.

When they pulled away for air for the fifth time, Fran panted softly as he loosened his grip on Bel's shoulders. He was quivering from the intoxicating taste of Bel, but it had been a long time since he had felt – well, _anything_. "Senpai…"

"Shh…" Bel laid back down and pulled Fran on top of him. "Froggy,,. I… I think I'm… in love with you…"

Fran nodded. He didn't want to hurt Bel and tell him that he didn't feel the same, so instead he mumbled, "Me, too, senpai…"

A joyous smile crossed Bel's face before he kissed the teenager's cheek. "Froggy…"

"Senpai, if you don't want a blowjob, then I don't have a birthday gift for you." Fran cuddled in close.

"Shishi~ It's fine, Froggy; I'm just really happy to be here with you. I don't want a gift as long as I have you to cuddle."

Fran nodded. "What are you going to do about that?"

"Huh?" Bel gasped when he felt a small hand squeeze his still-hard length. He shifted uncomfortably, knowing he had to behave himself around Fran now; if the younger was asexual, then he couldn't do anything that would make his boyfriend uncomfortable around him. "…"

"Senpai, it's your birthday. I know you're being respectful, but just for today, you can have anything you want from me. Okay?"

Bel swallowed thickly. His cheeks heated up as thoughts flashed through his mind. Shyly, he asked, "…Is it okay if… I, uh… I get to… taste Froggy…?"

Fran nodded. He was glad Bel had chosen something where he could just lay back and wait for it to be over; it was much easier than having to be the one pleasuring his boyfriend.

Bel gave a shy smile before he kissed his boyfriend's cheek again. He then moved out from beneath Fran and lowered himself so that he was sitting in between the younger's legs. He took a deep breath as he reached out with shaking hands to undo Fran's belt and zip, and once he had pushed them down to the other's knees, he couldn't help but admire the sight before him.

Fran watched the way his boyfriend absentmindedly unzipped his pants and reached in so that he could caress himself. He wasn't surprised when Bel gave a small moan and pulled himself out of his pants; he could only imagine how excited this must be making the other.

"F-froggy…" Bel moaned lowly as he ducked his head; he knew he wasn't going to get sex today, but he still felt so fucking horny.

"It's okay, senpai. You can taste." Fran himself wasn't aroused, and he doubted he would be when Bel lowered his head between his legs; he had never liked the idea of having a dick in his mouth as he truthfully found it a rather disgusting concept, but he had been willing to do it for Bel; he had wanted to give his boyfriend something special for his birthday, but this would work out fine.

Bel nodded. He reached out and grabbed the flaccid shaft before him, suddenly feeling anxious; this would be his first time giving a blowjob, and what if he couldn't do it good?

 **~~SEXUAL CONTENT REMOVED~~**

"Senpai, was it good?" Fran leaned over and grabbed a box of tissues off his bedside table. He pulled some out and begun wiping away the semen on his leg before he cleaned Bel up, too.

Bel nodded from where he had collapsed beside his boyfriend. He smiled as he felt gentle hands cleaning him; oh, how he loved to be taken care of.

"Senpai, it's okay if you want to have sex." Fran threw the dirty tissues onto the floor as he laid back down next to the older male. "You can have it whenever you need it if you can find someone who will respect you."

Bel shook his head. "The prince doesn't want to sleep with anyone but his little Froggy~ If Froggy doesn't want to have sex, then the prince won't have sex, either~"

"Senpai, you don't have to. You have needs, and it's not fair on you if you can't satisfy them."

"Froggy, the prince is perfectly fine with his hand~" A sudden blush crossed the boy's face as he begun to fidget. "…Umm… B-but is… Is it okay… If Froggy can do some stuff for the prince every now and then…?"

"Like what?"

Bel's blush darkened. "Froggy doesn't have to do much; I-I… just want to… to taste him some more, and see him touch himself…"

Fran nodded. "Sure, senpai. Want to take a nap while we wait for Squalo to come back?"

Bel smiled as he nodded; he was just so happy that Fran was willing to give him what he needed. "I love you, Froggy~"

"…Have a good nap, senpai."

Bel wasn't offended by Fran's words; he was too tired to really hear what the younger said anyway. As he closed his eyes, all he thought about was the intimate moment he had just shared with Fran.

Hopefully if there was a next time, he would be able to taste what Fran's seed tasted like, too.


	18. Chapter 18

**For now, I'll leave this as the last chapter. I'm debating whether or not to do a TYL arc or if it would be better to just leave this as it is. If anyone wants to see more, than let me know and I might do the last arc at a later date.**

When Bel awoke to Squalo shaking his shoulder, he didn't hesitate to sit up and hug the man tight; he had missed the other so much, and he was just happy to see Squalo. "Squ…!"

"Hey, brat. Coming out of bed? I got your present for you." Squalo smiled as he hugged the boy with one arm and rested his free hand on the small of Bel's back. "Everyone put in money towards it, so it's a gift from all of us."

"Even Xanxus and Mammy?" Bel found this hard to believe; Mammon wouldn't have forked out more money than what she had put in his card, and it would have been suicide asking Xanxus for anything – if Squalo had asked the scarred man to put in, he was lucky to be alive.

"Yeah, of course. They love you just as much, brat." Squalo lifted Bel off the bed and carried him out into the living room. By now, the other residents had dispersed and it was just Squalo, Dino and the two students. Fran had already been awake by the time the long-haired man entered the room, and he and Dino were absent.

"Where's Froggy and Dino?" Bel looked up at Squalo. He didn't protest as he was carried over to the couch and sat down on it; he was just glad that he could cuddle in against the man as Squalo sat next to him.

"They're outside." Squalo reached out to grab Bel's hand and hold it tight. He held a nervous expression on his face, but when he spoke, he seemed much calmer than usual. "Bel, it took us a lot to get your present. It's okay if you don't like it, but at least give it a chance, okay? It was a lot of money. If you decide you don't like it, we'll get something else for you."

"Squ, you know I'll appreciate anything you get for me." Bel grabbed long strands of silver hair. "You just wanted to get me something special and I really appreciate it."

Squalo smiled. He brushed golden bangs out of Bel's eyes before he leant down and placed a soft kiss on the younger's cheek. He reached into his pocket to pull something out, but he hesitated. "It's _safe_ , Bel. I promise. We would never put you in something that wasn't."

Bel cocked his head to the side. He understood when a set of car keys was soon dropped in his palm; he had been given a car for his birthday. He wasn't sure he felt about this; he had never felt interest in driving before, and it was honestly something he would rather avoid – but if Squalo had bought him a car…

"Squ…" Bel frowned. "…I… How much was it…?"

"Eighty-thousand. The Bucking Horse and I made sure it would be safe for you if anything happened. The last thing we would ever do is put you in a dangerous car. It has all of the latest safety features and it'll be good for you to learn in because we put in all sorts of sensors for you when we bought it. It's honestly safer than my car, Bel, and you know how I almost walked away from my head-on."

Bel nodded. He knew that Squalo's old car had a lot of safety features and that it could have turned out a lot worse for the man if he had been driving something different – and he trusted the other to not get him a car Squalo wouldn't drive himself.

"What kind of car is it?" Bel stood up to follow Squalo outside. For eighty-thousand dollars, he could only imagine what kind of car it was.

"An Audi." Squalo took Bel's hand as they walked towards the front door together. "It's got six cylinders, so be careful in it, okay? I would have gotten you one with four since you're only learning, but I trust you to be sensible in it. You'll feel a lot more confident learning in a higher-powered car anyway; if you drive someone else's car, you'll have more control over it and you'll feel safer."

"I would be careful, Squ," Bel promised. "I don't want to damage my gift."

Squalo smiled. "I know you would be. Do you think you'll drive it?"

"I don't really want to drive, but that's a lot of money for me to waste." The boy frowned. "How come you got me a car when I don't even have a learner's permit?"

"If you still lived with us, we wouldn't have got you one because you could just walk, but when you live out of town, it's really hard to not have a car. We don't expect you to want to drive all the time, but at least if you can start to learn and get your license, you don't have to rely on other people to take you places and you can go wherever you want. You'll also feel a lot safer being the one to drive yourself around; that's why we decided a car would be good for you."

Bel nodded. He knew that the others were only trying to do good by him, and he appreciated that; he had just never been able to see himself as having a car before – especially not an eighty-thousand car; he would have been content with a five-thousand-dollar piece of shit because even if he _did_ get his license, he didn't think he would drive more than maybe two or three times a week depending on what he needed from in town.

When the two stepped outside, Bel found Dino showing Fran what he assumed was his new car parked along the kerb. He appreciated that it looked rather nice, and he liked the dark red colour of it; at least Squalo certainly had taken the look of it into consideration when picking a car for him, too.

"Do you like it?" Squalo smiled when Bel nodded. "Do you want to take it for a drive around the neighbourhood and see if you're comfortable with it?"

"Okay." Bel had never been in the habit of disrespecting his gifts – especially ones that had costed someone a fortune to get for him. It wasn't that he _wanted_ to drive it, but he wasn't going to let his once-guardian spend so much money on him, only for Bel to decide he didn't want it.

"Good. Dino will take you and teach you to drive it because I have to take Fran to school and he'll be better to teach you anyway. I'll be back soon."

The boy hugged Squalo tight before he moved to join Dino by the new car. He kissed Fran farewell as the younger was called over to the garage, and though he hesitated to get into his car, he soon found himself doing so after a few calming words from Dino.

After he got into the car, Bel strapped himself in tight before he put the keys into the ignition. He didn't turn it on just yet; he needed to calm his nerves before he did so.

"There's no hurry," Dino promised. "Take as long as you need; don't let anyone rush you around if you need to take your time."

Bel nodded. He took just a minute more before he decided he was ready to start the car. "Now what?"

"Push the clutch in and hold it there so that you can put it into first gear. Don't take your foot off the clutch or else the car will stall."

Bel nodded. "And now?"

"Watch your rev meter. Push down on the accelerator until you can lift that needle to about two-thousand revs, and then you want to slowly lift your clutch up until the car starts to move. Hold it there and then put a little more pressure onto the accelerator as you bring the clutch the rest of the way up. Just keep doing that until you learn where your clutch starts to engage."

Bel nodded. He did as he was told, and to his relief, he found that driving a car was _much_ easier than a truck; soon enough, he found himself driving slowly down the road in second gear, not ready to go any faster just yet.

"Remember, Bel; whenever you get into a car, you're running the risk of getting hurt." Dino knew Bel was ready to hear this, and he wasn't going to wait longer to tell the boy; he felt it was something every driver should know, and hopefully it would help Bel get a bit more confident in his driving. "Always assume. Always assume that every other driver around you is an idiot. Never trust them, alright? Just trust yourself. Don't put yourself into a situation where someone else can hurt you."

"I don't want to drive in traffic just yet anyway; not until I get my learner permit and learn to drive my car better."

"You can take however long you want, Bel," Dino promised. "There's no need to rush. You just drive however you feel comfortable and don't let anyone else bully you into doing something you're uncomfortable with. Especially in a manual car; if you panic when you're trying to change gears, it'll just make you more stressed and you'll wear out your clutch or stall it."

Bel was glad that Dino was so patient with him; it was what he needed to reassure him that it was okay to be scared of driving, and that he wasn't expected to suddenly be able to drive as if he had been doing it his whole life.

"Watch this car reversing out of the driveway." Dino pointed out a car further up that was slowly coming out onto the road. "Move further into the middle of the road and if you think he's going to keep reversing out and not stop, slow down and move to the other side since there's no oncoming traffic. Don't panic if he tries to make you move faster; he can always go around you if he's in a hurry."

Bel nodded. He was glad that the other car seemed to respect the learner plates on his car and was giving him room; he knew most people would be impatient with him for driving so slowly, but it made him a little more comfortable to know that some people would give him respect.

After just five minutes, Bel had gone around the block and had come back to Squalo's home. He accidentally mounted the kerb as he tried to park against it, and though it had frightened him at first, he was able to calm down and try to park again. He had instinctively parked further away from the kerb than he should, but Dino had been happy to fix it for him; the older blond knew to never expect a perfect driving job from Bel, and that was okay; the boy had a lot to learn, and still needed to overcome his trauma.

Bel could take as long as he wanted to learn how to drive, and Dino would never get impatient with him for being so overly cautious.

 _ **~~XX~~**_

When Squalo and Dino took Bel down to the cemetery a few hours later, the two adults had remained quiet as they stood by the gravesides. They knew that the boy liked a bit of quiet when he was visiting his family, and they could respect that; they never forced conversation out of Bel when he wanted to mourn in peace.

As Bel sat down by his family's grave, Dino and Squalo stood back from him to give him some room. Dino had his arms wrapped tightly around his lover while Squalo rested against him, the two whispering to each other so that they didn't disturb Bel.

"He's taking it better this year," Dino whispered. He moved closer to Squalo so that he could drop his chin on top of his lover's head. He smiled when he felt the younger's arms wrap around him in return; he loved when the smaller male was feeling affectionate.

Squalo nodded. He hummed before saying, "He's not crying. I think he's starting to move on."

"I hope he is. He hurts himself because he doesn't know how to accept what happened. He just keeps thinking about it and wondering how things used to be. It's not healthy for him."

"I know." Squalo tilted his head up so that he could catch Dino's lips with his own. "I love you."

"I love you, too, Squalo." Dino returned the kiss happily; no one had ever made him as happy as Squalo did, even if the younger male struggled at times in their relationship. From the corner of his eye, he noticed Bel standing up and turning around to approach them. "Bel's coming."

Squalo pulled away so that he could give Bel his undivided attention. "What's wrong, brat?"

Bel peered up at the two from beneath his long bangs. H was quiet for a few seconds before he said, "When I was at Fumie's, I remembered something about my family. I think my mother loved me and Rasiel. She stayed behind to try and get me out of the car because my seatbelt got jammed. She tried to open the back door so we could get out, and one of the cars hit her."

"Bel…"

Bel shook his head. "I suppose it doesn't matter anymore. I might never remember anything else, and I guess that's okay. I want to think that my mother loved us."

"I'm sure she did, Bel." Dino, who had always been better with words than Squalo, put one of his hands on the boy's shoulders. "You're such a good kid, and I can't see how anyone could have not loved you."

"What if I was different before the crash? What if I was a bad kid?"

"Hey, brat, don't think like that. I'm sure your family loved you regardless. It doesn't matter who you were before; you got a second chance, and no matter what, you've done well with your second chance. You had so many reasons to be bitter and angry and just a little shit, but you're none of that. I love you like my own, and I've never fostered a kid like you before, Bel. You know that. How many foster kids did I take in that pissed me off to no end? If I could have my own kid, I'd sincerely hope they'd turn out just like you, Bel."

"Really…?"

Squalo nodded. It was Dino who replied. "Squalo won't admit it to you, but you're his pride. He never stops talking about you to anyone. You should hear him when he comes to see me at work; no matter who has lunch with us, he tells them all about you."

A sincere smile crossed Bel's face at this; he hadn't known this about Squalo, but it really made him feel better; maybe he could never get his memories of his real family back, but he supposed that was okay; after all, he had his foster family and his adoptive family to make up for the loneliness in his heart. They certainly weren't his real parents, but Bel knew he needed to stop holding onto what he couldn't remember and try to move on.

"Hey, Squ?" Bel reached out to take the man's hand and press himself in between the older two. He smiled as Dino leant down to hug him; he couldn't have been happier with his foster family.

"Yes, Bel?" Squalo threaded his fingers through the boy's golden locks.

"Can I drive your car and see what it's like compared to mine?"

Squalo nodded. "Of course you can, brat. You can drive the back road to home if you want to, but you can't go through town just yet because you don't have enough experience, and there won't be many cars on the back road. Just be really careful in it because it has more power than yours and you don't want to go too fast in it since you're learning."

"Thanks, Squ~"

The long-haired man couldn't help but smile; he was just so happy that Bel was finally starting to move on because the boy didn't deserve to hurt over what had brought him to them in the first place; Bel was such a beautiful kid and deserved all the happiness in the world.

"Do you want to drive your car to Fumie's tonight?" Dino smiled as the three begun walking out of the cemetery. "I'll drive it through town for you and then you can take it the rest of the way. I'm sure Squalo wouldn't mind following behind."

Bel shuddered; in all honesty, the idea kind of frightened him as he knew how often trucks always went down Fumie's road, and even as a passenger, it always terrified him to have to pass them. "…I… M-maybe not yet… T-too many trucks…"

Dino nodded. "That's fine, Bel. When you get your learner permit, I'll pick you up and take you for driving lessons."

Bel hugged the man tight. "Thanks, Dino… I-I just wanna drive where it's quiet for now…"

"I know, Bel." Dino loved how affectionate the boy was; he had always been family orientated, and like Squalo, he would have loved kids of his own. He wanted to adopt with his lover, but he knew it would be difficult since they didn't live together and would be unfair on the kid if they had to bounce around both of their homes – it was just easier for everyone if Squalo continued to foster and allowed Dino to help him raise the kids. "As I said, there's no rush. You can take however long you need."

"Can we go out for ice cream?" Bel's smile was wider as he received nods in response. "And sushi for lunch?"

"You know you get to pick what you want to do for your birthday," Squalo pointed out. "It's all up to you to decide what we do for today. Whatever you want."

Bel clapped his hands happily. "Squ, I love you! You, too, Dino!"

Squalo's smile was so gentle as Bel hugged him tight. He returned the embrace, and when Dino closed in to hug them both as well, he extended an arm to wrap around his lover's middle. He had come from an abusive childhood, one of the reasons he had become a foster parent, but despite what he had been through in his difficult life, he felt as if he could be stronger than all of that as long as he had Dino and Bel to love and be loved by.

Squalo was confident that Bel could be happy, too, because if the man had been able to become who he was today, he knew Bel could do it, too – the only thing holding the boy back was his own mind, but somehow, it looked as if Bel was finally finishing up the last of his healing.


End file.
